THE DA VINCI CODE AND
THE POPE
THE POPE
Imaginary Jesus
On March 15, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would begin devoting much
of the time at his Wednesday General Audiences to a catechesis on the relationship
between Christ and the Church. He went on to say that, “between Christ and the
Church there is no opposition: despite the sins of the people who make up the Church,
they are inseparable. Therefore, a slogan that was popular some years back: "Jesus
yes, Church no", is totally inconceivable with the intention of Christ. This
individualistically chosen Jesus is an imaginary Jesus.”
Today we have another imaginary Jesus portrayed on the “big screen”. This Jesus is
a figment of Dan Brown’s imagination. However, at the same time, this Jesus is both the
longed for messiah of the irreligious and a witness to the current teachings of the Holy
Father.
The Jesus of The Da Vinci Code is the imaginary friend of many. This is a Jesus
separate from the Church. In fact, he is incompatible with the Church because his plan
was thwarted by the Church as we know it today. For those who have a difficulty with or
an outright hate of the Catholic Church this Jesus is truly their messiah. In their eyes he
was a nice guy who not only worked against organized religion but hoped that the new
pseudo-religion he was starting would be led by his girlfriend, Mary Magdalene. Here,
the “Jesus yes, Church no” chant reaches a feverish pitch. Actually the chant worsens
to “Anyone yes, Church no. Church no, at all costs!” This imaginary Jesus is the poster
boy for the “I’m okay, your okay, so why don’t we give love a chance and leave
organized religion behind” religious organization. There is a false perception proposed
that Jesus was for the average Joe but powerful men started a Church to control the
average Joe. They conveniently forget the words of Christ to Saint Peter, “…you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail
against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” The idea of a Church, of
an organized structure, was His plan.
Strike the Shepherd
The redeeming aspect of this book and movie is the fact that it truly illustrates, in many
ways, that you cannot separate Christ and the Church. It shows that Christ is truly
married and He is married to the Church.
Tradition tells us that the first twenty or so popes were martyred. These men lost their
lives for Christ and the Church. The thinking of the time was that if the shepherd, the
pope, was struck then the sheep would scatter. This made the popes a favorite target of
the authorities during the early days of the Church. If we fast forward to today we see a
similar yet not so brutal circumstance. Practically every major motion picture that has
anything to do with Christ or Christianity, for good or for bad, includes the Catholic
Church. Whether the hero is looking for holy water to fill his super-soaker or the villain is
searching for sanctuary, it is the Catholic Church that they seek. Like the powers that
persecuted the popes because they recognized them as the leaders of the Christian
community, so Hollywood and the media persecutes the Catholic Church today because
it is the foundation of the Christian community. Every attempt to strike the Church is a
strike against Christ Himself. (Acts 9:4-5)
The most striking illustration that the Church and Christ cannot be separated is the fact
that with the advent of this movie many Christians, who otherwise dislike the Catholic
Church, are forced to defend the Church. The Da Vinci Code and the way that it
presents Christianity makes it impossible for Christians to defend their belief in Christ
without defending His Church because once again the Catholic Church is presented as
the representative of Christendom and rightly so. Therefore the Christian is forced to
choose between Dan Brown’s version of Christianity or the Catholic Church’s version.
The choice is either for Christ and His Church, with all its blemishes, or a churchless
Christ who is pointless and weak, “an imaginary Jesus’. There is no opportunity to
choose between Christ and the Church. It is all or nothing.
Even the "Code" leads to Rome
Another redeeming value of this work of fiction is that when the reader or viewer finds
himself questioning Christ and Christianity there is no escape from the reality of the
existence of the Catholic Church. Honest, open, questioning will ultimately lead a person
toward this Heavenly Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. (cf. Song of Songs 6:
4) There is no way to honestly question the person of Christ, the person of Mary
Magdalene, or any subject in the book without studying the Church built by Jesus
Christ. Objective searches will lead one to discover the truth about the Council of Nicea,
the Crusades, and Opus Dei. In addition, with every discovery there will be a connection
between the Church and Christ.
As the buzz about the “code” begins to dissipate like a stubborn fog the clear air will
once again reveal the “pillar and foundation of truth” (2 Timothy 3:15) which is the
Church. We must pray that as this fog lifts, those men and women of goodwill will look
towards Rome in order to find Christ and His Church. We must also pray that as the
Holy Father continues his teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church
more people will realize that it is the devil who offers us the “imaginary Jesus” and that
the real Jesus is to be found in His Church and that He will be with His Church even until
the end of time. To remove Christ is to remove the head for as St. Paul says, “he is the
head of the body, the Church”. Christ loves the Church and died for Her (cf. Ephesians
5) therefore what God has joined together let no man, especially Dan Brown, separate.
(Matthew 19:6)
On March 15, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would begin devoting much
of the time at his Wednesday General Audiences to a catechesis on the relationship
between Christ and the Church. He went on to say that, “between Christ and the
Church there is no opposition: despite the sins of the people who make up the Church,
they are inseparable. Therefore, a slogan that was popular some years back: "Jesus
yes, Church no", is totally inconceivable with the intention of Christ. This
individualistically chosen Jesus is an imaginary Jesus.”
Today we have another imaginary Jesus portrayed on the “big screen”. This Jesus is
a figment of Dan Brown’s imagination. However, at the same time, this Jesus is both the
longed for messiah of the irreligious and a witness to the current teachings of the Holy
Father.
The Jesus of The Da Vinci Code is the imaginary friend of many. This is a Jesus
separate from the Church. In fact, he is incompatible with the Church because his plan
was thwarted by the Church as we know it today. For those who have a difficulty with or
an outright hate of the Catholic Church this Jesus is truly their messiah. In their eyes he
was a nice guy who not only worked against organized religion but hoped that the new
pseudo-religion he was starting would be led by his girlfriend, Mary Magdalene. Here,
the “Jesus yes, Church no” chant reaches a feverish pitch. Actually the chant worsens
to “Anyone yes, Church no. Church no, at all costs!” This imaginary Jesus is the poster
boy for the “I’m okay, your okay, so why don’t we give love a chance and leave
organized religion behind” religious organization. There is a false perception proposed
that Jesus was for the average Joe but powerful men started a Church to control the
average Joe. They conveniently forget the words of Christ to Saint Peter, “…you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail
against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” The idea of a Church, of
an organized structure, was His plan.
Strike the Shepherd
The redeeming aspect of this book and movie is the fact that it truly illustrates, in many
ways, that you cannot separate Christ and the Church. It shows that Christ is truly
married and He is married to the Church.
Tradition tells us that the first twenty or so popes were martyred. These men lost their
lives for Christ and the Church. The thinking of the time was that if the shepherd, the
pope, was struck then the sheep would scatter. This made the popes a favorite target of
the authorities during the early days of the Church. If we fast forward to today we see a
similar yet not so brutal circumstance. Practically every major motion picture that has
anything to do with Christ or Christianity, for good or for bad, includes the Catholic
Church. Whether the hero is looking for holy water to fill his super-soaker or the villain is
searching for sanctuary, it is the Catholic Church that they seek. Like the powers that
persecuted the popes because they recognized them as the leaders of the Christian
community, so Hollywood and the media persecutes the Catholic Church today because
it is the foundation of the Christian community. Every attempt to strike the Church is a
strike against Christ Himself. (Acts 9:4-5)
The most striking illustration that the Church and Christ cannot be separated is the fact
that with the advent of this movie many Christians, who otherwise dislike the Catholic
Church, are forced to defend the Church. The Da Vinci Code and the way that it
presents Christianity makes it impossible for Christians to defend their belief in Christ
without defending His Church because once again the Catholic Church is presented as
the representative of Christendom and rightly so. Therefore the Christian is forced to
choose between Dan Brown’s version of Christianity or the Catholic Church’s version.
The choice is either for Christ and His Church, with all its blemishes, or a churchless
Christ who is pointless and weak, “an imaginary Jesus’. There is no opportunity to
choose between Christ and the Church. It is all or nothing.
Even the "Code" leads to Rome
Another redeeming value of this work of fiction is that when the reader or viewer finds
himself questioning Christ and Christianity there is no escape from the reality of the
existence of the Catholic Church. Honest, open, questioning will ultimately lead a person
toward this Heavenly Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. (cf. Song of Songs 6:
4) There is no way to honestly question the person of Christ, the person of Mary
Magdalene, or any subject in the book without studying the Church built by Jesus
Christ. Objective searches will lead one to discover the truth about the Council of Nicea,
the Crusades, and Opus Dei. In addition, with every discovery there will be a connection
between the Church and Christ.
As the buzz about the “code” begins to dissipate like a stubborn fog the clear air will
once again reveal the “pillar and foundation of truth” (2 Timothy 3:15) which is the
Church. We must pray that as this fog lifts, those men and women of goodwill will look
towards Rome in order to find Christ and His Church. We must also pray that as the
Holy Father continues his teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church
more people will realize that it is the devil who offers us the “imaginary Jesus” and that
the real Jesus is to be found in His Church and that He will be with His Church even until
the end of time. To remove Christ is to remove the head for as St. Paul says, “he is the
head of the body, the Church”. Christ loves the Church and died for Her (cf. Ephesians
5) therefore what God has joined together let no man, especially Dan Brown, separate.
(Matthew 19:6)
