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Portrayed in the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code as a secretive cult willing to murder to defend a fictional 2,000-year-old Catholic cover-up, Opus Dei is promoting its softer side before the movie of the book arrives in May. Published in March 2003, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is one of the most popular books in publishing history with more than 40 million copies in print worldwide in 44 languages. The book is also controversial because the plot stems from the idea Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and had children. Because of this, the novel has been condemned by the RomanCatholic Church. "It’s very sad that Opus Dei and the Catholic Church were portrayed unfairly in the novel," said Opus Dei spokesman Brian Finnerty. "What we’re trying to do is take advantage of the interest to explain what the real Opus Dei is all about." Opus Dei is a far-flung, conservative Catholic organisation blessed by the Pope in 1982 with a special status in the church. Founded in 1928 in Spain by Jose Maria Escriva with a mission to teach Catholics to strive for holiness through their work, Opus Dei has 85,000 members worldwide, of which around 2,000 are priests. Escriva was made a saint in 2002. But as the whipping boy of church liberals for years and with estranged members telling of coercive recruitment tactics and corporal mortification, Opus Dei has been controversial. Now, because of The Da Vinci Code, it has to do even more to overcome the unblessed image portrayed by the book. Opus Dei appears in the story as a shadowy cult whose henchman is a murderous albino monk named Silas. — Reuters |
