“Jesus Christ the Son of God, when called to identify the fallen angel, Satan, gave him the name “father of lies.” In the two millennia during which mankind has been given the grace to live under the influence of the Christian Gospel, many times the family of Faith has been attacked by disciples of the “father of lies.” Sometimes they do it for malice, sometimes for gain, but never have these assaults achieved lasting weight. And so it will be with The Da Vinci Code. It is a fabrication of the worst sort – a tapestry of lies woven from twisted truths, with enough reality thrown in to form a curious picture, but a picture distorted and fantastic. And in a short while, it will fall apart and vanish from history.
“I send my support and my encouragement to all those who will be praying and protesting during these upcoming days, against the lies presented in The Da Vinci Code. I encourage all Christians to reject this book, and the film based on the book. Neither can be passed off as innocent entertainment or fun, for the undermining of faith they promote is a trick – and we know who the ultimate author of the trick really is.
“Let us stand together then, as Defenders of Our Lord, his Gospel, and His family who we are, and by our prayers and protest, hasten the day when The Da Vinci Code will be remembered as a minor curiosity – a bad book, that gave rise to a bad film, and was then forgotten.”
– Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory
Archbishop of Atlanta
“I encourage all those who are using the release of The Da Vinci Code as an opportunity to teach the truth of the Gospel about the life of the Lord Jesus. I offer my support as you gather in prayerful vigils today to publicly proclaim your faith in Jesus Christ and to voice your disapproval of the erroneous information about Jesus presented as fact in The Da Vinci Code. May the Lord bless all your efforts and may Mary His Mother intercede for you.”
–Justin Cardinal Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
“Thank you for your prayerful and peaceful efforts to give public witness to the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church, and the belief of Christians, even as they are belittled and blasphemed in The Da Vinci Code.
“The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, attacks our belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the truthfulness of the Sacred Scriptures, the integrity of the Holy Catholic Church, and core values of Christianity and Christians.
“The movie of the same name will extend these offensive views to a wider audience for the sake of entertainment. Your campaign of prayer and lawful protest is sincerely appreciated. It is a meaningful exercise of Catholic outrage at the callous rejection of things we hold sacred
“May God help us to persevere in living the faith that brings us salvation and peace.”
– Most Reverend Robert W. Finn
Bishop of Kansas City – St. Joseph
“As a Puerto Rican who has been a priest for over 55 years; Bishop 45; Archbishop 41; Cardinal 33, from the bottom of my heart I reject all the errors and blasphemies contained in the despicable novel, The Da Vinci Code which unfortunately will be presented on a movie version very soon. I wish to remind all Catholics of the words of Our Lord that the gates of Hell shall not prevail over His Church. Let us join, at least spiritually, if we cannot do it physically to the prayers and vigil that are being offered asking Our Lord to strengthen our faith, and also for the conversion of all those responsible for this attack against our faith and our Church.”
–Luis Cardinal Aponte
Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan
“As the movie The Da Vinci Code opens in theaters, I wish to offer my support of your prayer vigils objecting to such a blasphemous and abominable film distorting the life of Our Savoir. For five hundred years Leonardo’s mural of the Last Supper has stood as a Christian work of art and copies have hung in millions of houses and seminary and religious houses’ refectories. To claim that one of the pictured apostles (John) is really Mary Magdalene is absurd!
“The current media should be ashamed of themselves! They will do anything to discredit the Catholic Church! Our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself said ‘having eyes they do not see; having ears they do not hear!’
“Will one billion believers lose their faith over this movie? Probably not, but my prayers are with the one or two who will actually lose their faith because of this distorted impression of Jesus Christ and His Church. St. Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, stresses the importance of teaching true doctrine. He then adds: “Whoever teaches in any other way, not holding to the sound doctrines of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching proper to true religion, should be recognized as both conceited and ignorant, a sick man in his passion for polemics and controversy. Form these come envy, dissention, slander, evil, suspicions – in a word, the bickering of men with twisted minds who have lost all sense of truth.’ (1 Tim. 6:3-5)
“My prayers are with you.”
-Most Reverend Robert M. Moskal
Bishop of St. Josaphat in Parma
“We are praying for you all who are protesting. On Sunday, Mother’s day I mentioned in my homily: If your mother is being attacked with vicious lies and someone comes to you and says, ‘Hey, I got this fantastic movie about your mother and the bad deeds she has done, would you pay to see that movie? Or, if her son, Jesus, was being pelted with stones, would you provide the throwers with more stones to throw at Jesus? If you love your mother, the Church, will you stand idly by and allow her to be degraded?’”
– Most Reverend Anthony Apuron
Archbishop of Agana, GUAM
“I offer you and the members of the American TFP my support in protesting the movie version of The Da Vinci Code. Having read the novel, I believe that it deliberately seeks to undermine the historical as well as theological truths about Jesus Christ as presented in the Gospels and verified by the Tradition of Christian faith. Many people will unwittingly be deceived by the outrageous claims that are made in this work by Dan Brown. Surely there is evil in its intent.
“Americans speak with their wallets. I encourage all decent, truth-loving persons to boycott this film and ask others to do the same.”
– Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt
Bishop of New Ulm, Minnesota
“I was very pleased to receive your letter of April 5th last in which you invited me to take part in one of the protests organized by the America Needs Fatima Protest Campaign against ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ During the Easter Season I will be very busy visiting parishes to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation; thus, I will be unable to commit to being present for one of these protests.
“Be assured of my prayers for the work of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property and its America Needs Fatima Campaign, as it seeks to support the Catholic Church and uphold its traditional beliefs. I know that there will be many people involved in this campaign and I ask you to extend to them my prayerful best wishes.”
– Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke
Archbishop of St. Louis
“Attacks against the Catholic Church and the truths of our faith are coming at us on a daily basis. The blasphemous attack of the novel – and now the film – The Da Vinci Code is perhaps a little more subtle than some other assaults, but it is no less pernicious.
“I am very pleased to know that so many faithful people will be giving peaceful and prayerful demonstration of their faith as this film opens in theaters around the country. May the Lord bless you for your courageous stance; and know that I will hold you in my prayers in a very special way.“Let us never tire of doing good!”
– Most Reverend Michael J. Sheridan
Bishop of Colorado Springs
“In response to your communication of April 26, 2006, let me assert that I was one to whom The Da Vinci Code was given as a gift, under the false premise that it was a substantive mystery fiction. As such, I accepted it and began reading it only to discover to my dismay, that it was indeed fiction but purported to contain more than a grain of truth and presented in such a way that its fictional character was so totally forgotten.
“The issue became more clear when the Christian religion, the Catholic faith, and historic veracity became so confused as to pose a clear separation from the reality as I have learned and understood it. In addition to my own competence in theology, I also have a Ph.D. in history.
“Unfortunately, media of various sorts have taken up the cause for this untruth and it has been more than a little exaggerated by being transferred into the film media where I have no doubt but that many people who are unaware of the issues and facts will accept it as absolute truth. Once again we have been short-changed in our culture and society by a substitution of the cleverly contrived deception for the real facts of history and religion.
“I commend your efforts for a grassroots peaceful but distinctly assertive of the truth to the contrary of this presentation in theaters where it might be shown shortly. If the presence of such public witness causes at least one individual to have second thoughts about the ideological propaganda to which he or she is being subject, your effort will have been well worthwhile. May God bless and prosper you in this enterprise.”
-Most Reverend Oscar H. Lipscomb
Archbishop of Mobile
“May the Risen Lord grant you peace! I write in urgent response to your letter of April 26, in which you communicate the position of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property with respect to Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. It is most disheartening to see the popular response to this blasphemous word of pseudo-fiction in anticipation of its movie version release on May 19th. At the same time, I am encouraged to know that people of good will such as the members of the Society will exercise their legal right to peacefully protest a film that serves no objective other than to ridicule Catholic doctrine and incite the masses to error.
“It is my fervent hope that, through the prayers of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and the witness of Christ’s disciples, the wavering faith of many moviegoers will be strengthened against the falsehoods depicted in this film. I drew attention to this latest attack on the Church in my weekly column of May 6, which ran in local newspapers. Enclosed is a copy for your review. Please be assured of my prayerful support for the success of this protest in defense of the faith. Asking the Lord to bless your endeavors with His grace and favor, I remain,
“Sincerely in Christ,”
– Most Reverend Raymond J. Peña
Bishop of Brownsville, Texas