Rock Candy

According to this Reuters story, the Vatican today has stepped up its efforts to keep people from going to see "The Da Vinci Code," which opens May 15 and stars Tom Hanks. Nice. You can't buy  promotion this good (or, maybe you can; maybe you can pay the Vatican to publicly denounce the film so more people will actually go see it).

Officials at the Vatican say Dan Brown's book is full of anti-Christian lies and the urge Catholics to boycott the film, since it most likely will carry the same lies. You know, the fictional line (the book is FICTION, Vaticanites) that Jesus and Mary Magdalene ran off and that Leonardo Da Vinci and others were part of a secret organization that was started by them. Or something like that. Hell, I haven't read the book. I've just heard about it. Now, I'm for sure going to read it. Thanks, Vatican, for the rec. I'm also for sure going to see the movie now.

The latest broadside came from Archbishop Angelo Amato, the number two official in the Vatican doctrinal office which was headed by Pope Benedict until his election last year.

Amato, addressing a Catholic conference in Rome, called the book "stridently anti-Christian .. full of calumnies, offences and historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and the Church."

He added: "I hope that you all will boycott the film.

You betcha. And that special on the Gospel of Judas, I'll boycott that too. Right.

I think I'll check out "The Last Temptation of Christ" this weekend at the videostore while I'm at it. I'll invite my old pal Gov. Huckabee over to watch and discuss it.