Vatican Gives "Da Vinci Code" 2 Thumbs Down

According to this article, that I found through this post on Popsurfing.com to give all due credit, the Vatican has apparently never heard the phrase "It's just a movie." The so-called Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, apparently once known by the more intimidating name The Office of the Grand Inquisitor, is urging Catholics to boycott the upcoming film version of the perennial best selling book The Da Vinci Code because of "its lies against the church."

Neither are the Catholics renowned for their self-deprecating sense of humor. This report reminded of the incident that occurred when I was in high school and our parish priest actually told my Sunday school class that we were not, as Catholics, allowed to see the then just released Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Of course, when I was in college just a few years later and finally did see the film, especially the hilarious, and catchy, tune "Every Sperm Is Sacred," I understood why Father Weber had his collar all in a knot about it. Nonetheless, his admonition to avoid the film only made me want to see it even more, which is usually the case when you tell someone, especially a teenager, that they can't do something. Apparently it works for forty year olds as well, because this latest "suggestion" from the Vatican has me wondering what the heck all the furor is about. Why is the church so against this film and why has the book been on the bestseller lists for over three years and spawned a cottage industry of books and videos about it? I'm actually thinking that I might attempt to read this thing. (I say "attempt" because most serious reviews of the book I've come across basically dismiss it as unreadable crap on the level of a John Grisham novel and I have litle tolerance for crap, especially in literature.) If I do, and if I can actually finish it, I'll give you my own take on it right here on The Word From On High.