[Apologetics] Counter defamation of the Church, Vatican official urges

[Art Kelly]

Counter defamation of the Church, Vatican official
urges  

May. 18 (CWNews.com) - The Da Vinci Code is a part of
a campaign of "real defamation against the Church,"
according to a ranking Vatican official. 

Archbishop Angelo Amato, who had earlier called for a
boycott of the movie, denounced The Da Vinci Code
again in a Radio Vatican interview on May 17: the day
that Ron Howard's film version of the Dan Brown novel
made its debut before critics at the Cannes festival.
Archbishop Amato, the secretary of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, appeared on Vatican
Radio before critics gave their evaluation of the
movie. The archbishop said that in today's world the
Catholic Church is the sole visible and organized
defender of marriage and family life. Therefore, he
said, the Church is often a target for those who
reject traditional moral teachings on issues of
sexuality or bioethics. 

Today, Archbishop Amato said, vicious and inaccurate
attacks on the Church can be made with impunity. He
pointed to the German television showing of Popetown,
a brutal satire of the Pope and the Church, despite
the protests of the German hierarchy. 

There should be limits to the public assaults on the
faith, at least so that "you cannot falsify the
history of Christianity with impunity," the archbishop
said. He did not recommend taking any steps directly
against Dan Brown's novel-- "The book does not merit
it, in my opinion," he said-- but Archbishop Amato
said that "Chrsitian communities should speak out more
strongly" to defend the faith. 



                           
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