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A Rome priest is fighting for his life after being stabbed in the neck and stomach by a deranged man who had just watched the film The Da Vinci Code... Eyewitnesses said that Marco Luzi, 25, asked to see Father Canio Canistri, 68, parish priest at the church of Santa Marcella in the San Saba district on the Aventine Hill, and then attacked him with a knife hidden in a cloth. An elderly parishioner who came to the priest's aid is also in serious condition. A Peruvian childminder and a policeman were also injured as the assailant fled through a...

AUGUST 21--The next time you forget to return a couple of library books (and ignore those annoying letters about the overdue status of said volumes), think of Heidi Dalibor. The Wisconsin woman, 20, was arrested earlier this month in connection with a pair of books overdue for several months. Dalibor, who made the mistake of ignoring a court citation issued after she failed to respond to letters and phone calls from the Grafton library, was busted August 6 for failing to return copies of Janet Fitch's best-seller "White Oleander" (a 1999 Oprah Book Club selection) and "Angels & Demons," author...

LONDON (Reuters) - Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of machines are uncannily similar to Chinese originals and were undoubtedly derived from them, a British amateur historian says in a newly-published book. Gavin Menzies sparked headlines across the globe in 2002 with the claim that Chinese sailors reached America 70 years before Christopher Columbus. Now he says a Chinese fleet brought encyclopedias of technology undiscovered by the West to Italy in 1434, laying the foundation for the engineering marvels such as flying machines later drawn by Italian polymath Leonardo.

VATICAN CITY — Were the makers of Angels and Demons, a movie based on a Dan Brown novel by the same name, seriously hoping to film scenes on the premises of Catholic churches in Rome? If so, they must have been dreaming.The movie, which is a prequel to Brown’s more commercially successful potboiler, The Da Vinci Code, sees Tom Hanks reprise his role as Harvard professor Robert Langdon. This time, however, instead of battling a murderous “Opus Dei monk,” Langdon is on a mission to save the Vatican from being blown up by a canister of antimatter. The storyline also...

CNN, following in the footsteps of ABCNews.com’s overblown take on the subject, couldn’t help but to insert snotty language into its report on the Catholic Diocese of Rome’s denial to the filming of the movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s "Angels and Demons." CNN international correspondent Jennifer Eccleston, closing her report on Thursday’s "American Morning," labeled the Church’s refusal, based on "The Da Vinci Code" book and movie’s bashing of the Catholic faith, "a big problem in Rome, where some sins are just too grave to be forgiven -- even if they're for art's sake." "Sins" that are "just too grave...

A movie adaptation of Dan Brown’s book, Angels and Demons, is now in production; it is the prequel to the film, “The Da Vinci Code.” There are reports today that the Vatican has banned those associated with “Angels and Demons” from shooting in Catholic churches in Rome or in the Vatican itself. This is important because there are scenes in the movie that are supposed to take place in the Vatican and in two churches in Rome. “Angels and Demons” stars Tom Hanks in his role as Robert Langdon, the symbologist. This time he is trying to unravel a plot...

The Vatican has banned the makers of Angels & Demons, the latest Dan Brown thriller to be filmed, from shooting scenes not only in the Vatican but in any church in Rome on the ground that it is "an offence against God" and "wounds common religious feelings". Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, head of the Vatican's Prefecture for Economic Affairs, said that the author had "turned the Gospels upside down to poison the faith. It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his blasphemous novels can be made into mendacious films in the name of business."...

New film takes Da Vinci Code conspiracy theories and shaky evidence to new heightsJoseph Brean, National PostWhen Ben Hammott discovered the apparent tomb of a Knight Templar at the bottom of a hole in a cave in the countryside of southern France, he thought he had discovered the final resting place of Mary Magdalene, and so he did what any amateur treasure hunter in this age of the Da Vinci Code would have done. He returned with a Hollywood director, lowered a pole into the tomb with "some sticky stuff on the end," removed the shroud from the body, plucked...

A remote mountain tomb and relics from 1st century Jerusalem have been discovered in southwest France. Among them are a simple pottery drinking cup and a small ointment vase that were said to have been used at the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalene over 2000 years ago. According to the priest who hid them away a century ago, they are sacred relics -- the true Holy Grail -- which symbolized this secret wedding. They have been analyzed by both the British Museum and Dr Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University, Jerusalem, who said: "It is possible that artifacts excavated...

By Spengler Islam watchers blogged all weekend about news that a secret archive of ancient Islamic texts had surfaced after 60 years of suppression. Andrew Higgins' Wall Street Journal report that the photographic record of Koranic manuscripts, supposedly destroyed during World War II but occulted by a scholar of alleged Nazi sympathies, reads like a conflation of the Da Vinci Code with Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail. The Da Vinci Code offered a silly fantasy in which Opus Dei, homicidal monks and twisted billionaires chased after proof that Christianity is a hoax. But the story of the photographic archive...

The recent movie, The Golden Compass, is little more than a reinterpretation of Sony films’ blasphemous The Da Vinci Code, reengineered for children.  Many writers have rightly criticized the film from its multiple censurable aspects, and who could blame them?  After all, there are myriad angles from which it should be condemned.  It portrays the Catholic Church as an evil institution called the “Magisterium,” led by men who live in buildings resembling cathedrals, dress like bishops and strive to control men’s minds.  Furthermore, author Philip Pullman is an avowed atheist who has affirmed: “I am trying to undermine the...

ONDON - Richard Leigh, a writer of alternative history who unsuccessfully sued for plagiarism over themes in Dan Brown's blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code," has died, his agent said Friday. He was 64. U.S.-born Leigh, who had lived in Britain for three decades, died in London on Nov. 21 of causes related to a heart condition, the Jonathan Clowes Agency said. Leigh was co-author of "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail," a work of speculative nonfiction that claimed Jesus Christ fathered a child with Mary Magdalene and that the bloodline continues to this day. A best-seller on its...

ROME, Italy (AP) -- It's a new Da Vinci code, but this time it could be for real. An Italian musician and computer technician claims to have uncovered musical notes encoded in Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper," raising the possibility that the Renaissance genius might have left behind a somber composition to accompany the scene depicted in the 15th-century wall painting. "It sounds like a requiem," Giovanni Maria Pala said. "It's like a soundtrack that emphasizes the passion of Jesus." Painted from 1494 to 1498 in Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the "Last Supper" vividly depicts a key...

An Italian IT expert claims to have found a secret image of the Virgin Mary and a Knight Templar inside Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper.Pesci Slavisa said the image can only be seen in a certain light and that he had to use his computer skills to reveal it.“I noticed a strange effect, like a shadow, when I was looking through a magazine with a reproduction of The Last Supper,� the 36-year-old explained.“So I scanned the painting and printed it onto a transparent sheet, which I then laid over the original image.“The result is a new painting with...

Archaeologist sparks hunt for Holy Grail By Nick Pisa in Rome Last Updated: 8:47pm BST 20/06/2007 An archaeologist has sparked a Da Vinci Code-style hunt for the Holy Grail after claiming ancient records show it is buried under a 6th century church in Rome. The cup - said to have been used by Christ at the Last Supper - is the focus of countless legends and has been sought for centuries. Alfredo Barbagallo, an Italian archaeologist, claims that it is buried in a chapel-like room underneath the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura, one of the seven churches which...

Music mystery of Da Vinci Code chapel cracked By Richard Alleyne Last Updated: 2:05am BST 01/05/2007 A Scottish church featured in The Da Vinci Code is embroiled in a fresh mystery of secret codes and heretical knowledge - but this one could be more than mere fiction. An ex-RAF codebreaker and his composer son say they have deciphered a musical score hidden for nearly 600 years in the elaborate carvings on the walls of Rosslyn Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel, theories connect it with the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant and the head of Christ The pair believe the tune...

Stan refuses to decorate another Easter egg in an all-new "South Park" entitled, "Fantastic Easter Special," premiering tonight, Wednesday, April 4 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Comedy Central. Stan just wants someone to explain what eggs have to do with Jesus dying for his sins. Determined to get the real story behind all of the eggs and bunnies that are part of the Easter ritual, Stan and Kyle fall in with an eccentric society that guards a legendary secret.

A painter fascinated with best-selling conspiracy thriller The Da Vinci Code committed suicide after becoming convinced she was the subject of a real-life murder plot.Caroline Eldridge, 38, moved to Italy to pursue her interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, but her mind became "muddled" by the mysteries surrounding his work, her father said. Caroline Eldridge, a Da Vinci scholar and artist, who killed herself after becoming obsessed with the mysteries surrounding the artist and the best-selling novel The Da Vinci CodeShe suffered paranoid delusions that she and her family were in danger "because of the knowledge that she had" of Leonardo...

By Luis Sergio Solimeo It just does not stop. Following in the footsteps of The Da Vinci Code, the Gnostic offensive against Christianity is forging ahead with new pretexts, and, once again, with massive media coverage. The New Onslaught: Archeological FictionThis time, it is not a pseudo-historic novel,1 but a pseudo-scientific Discovery Channel documentary, titled: The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which was directed by James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici.  The two are well-suited for the task.  Mr. Cameron is a science fiction2 fan, while Mr. Jacobovici could be considered an archeological fiction aficionado. Four years ago, he produced another...

A new book for Catholic children raises some interesting questions about Catholic/Muslim beliefs, and also about Catholic education.  Pauline Books has just published My Muslim Friend — a book which it hopes will give Catholic children, their parents, and their teachers "a new understanding and appreciation of Islam...." An exercise in multicultural evenhandedness, the 48-page book does a good job of explaining the basics of the Catholic faith, and also of presenting basic Muslim beliefs and practices in the context of a friendship between two girls.  But there are problems.  Although My Muslim Friend does deal with differences between Islam...

The History of a Nationwide Protest Against The Da Vinci CodeSumming it up: Rallies Take Sony to Task for The Da Vinci CodeA Time for Action—The Da Vinci Code RejectedFor all the Stories Telling the History of this Campaign, Click here  Where We Protested:Click the map below for a state-by-state look at the protest effort See the Protest Pictures   Click here for Photo Gallery Read the Blog of the CampaignClick The Da Vinci Code banner below for a two-week day-by-day account of the campaign's most intense days. Da Vinci Code Chronicle: Get the Arguments Against The Da Vinci...

Imagine a 20th Century that still had religious inquisitions, a world where the medieval Catholic Church still controlled everything and everyone. Where people were still burned at the stake, no religious tolerance and a place where everyone feared for their lives. Welcome to the world of Rex Mundi. The first time that I heard about Rex Mundi was while working on the set of Tim Sullivans' Driftwood about a year ago. Famed Rock 'N' Roll KISS photographer turned movie producer Barry Levine mentioned that they were working with Johnny Depp on a film. Sworn to secrecy and under threats of...

It has taken a couple of weeks, but the reviews from evangelical Christian leaders about Mel Gibson's latest performance are now in. Gibson's drunken remarks about "(expletive) Jews" being responsible for "all the wars in the world," which the actor made to a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy who pulled him over on July 28, were "hurtful and unfortunate" (James Dobson), "reprehensible . . . shameful" (the Rev. James Merritt) and "cause for concern" (the Rev. Ted Haggard). But has the actor-director's intemperate speech by the side of a highway prompted any prominent evangelical leader to voice second thoughts about the...

St Luke's Church has links to the Holy Grail story Treasure hunters trying to crack the Da Vinci Code are believed to be behind criminal damage at a village church with links to the Holy Grail. Chisels and hammers were used to chip away at walls inside St Luke's church in Hodnet, Shropshire. The church has attracted many visitors including tourists from overseas after its links to the Holy Grail were featured in a book and website. The Reverend Charmian Beech said: "They seemed to know what they were doing." A number of holes were chiselled into the stonework...

The Reverend Charmian Beech blamed a pair of 'Da Vinci Code-style' treasure hunters for causing thousands of pounds worth of damage as they searched for clues to help them find the Grail. Stonework was chipped off in four areas inside her church as the offenders tried to remove blocks from the walls to see what is behind them, she said.

Until recently, the 14th century church was a place to enjoy some peace and contemplation. But now things have radically changed for St Luke's Church in the village of Hodnet, Shropshire, with visitors lured by claims that it is linked to the Holy Grail mystery. And some, it seems, will go to any lengths to discover the beautiful church's secrets - even if it means taking a hammer and chisel to the walls. The Reverend Charmian Beech blamed a pair of 'Da Vinci Code-style' treasure hunters for causing thousands of pounds worth of damage as they searched for clues to...

Serious movement in D.C. – and if I hadn't been there, I would not have believed it. For several months Joan Wire and her daughter have been trying to secure an appointment with a highly effective government official we'll simply call Mr. Washington. Joan Wire is the stalwart wife of Mike Wire. Mike is the storied "man on the bridge," the single most critical eyewitness in the saga of TWA Flight 800, the 747 that was inexplicably blown out of the sky on the night of July 17, 1996. The CIA built its notorious zoom-climb animation around Mike's position on...

The economy's growth has never before been so driven by real estate. Now that engine is sputtering. Jiany Massad isn't quite ready to throw in the towel on his fledgling career as a Miami real-estate tycoon. But if the local housing market continues to head south, the 30-year-old real-estate broker is already making alternate plans. "I might restart my old business," he says of a home decorating company that specialized in high-end window treatments. "At least it's real-estate-related." With home sales down by nearly a third in Florida last quarter, thousands of those who hoped to cash in on the...

(JHR) The Bible talks about a great apostasy that will occur in the last days before the anti-christ is revealed. In the second book of Thessalonians it states: "Don't be fooled by what they say. For the coming of the Lord will not occur until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed -- the one who brings destruction." (2 Thessalonians 2:3) One major Christian organization is now demonstrating that the great falling away, known in most Christian churches as the great apostasy, is well underway. Traditional Values Coalition (http://www.traditionalvalues.org/about.php) claims as its organizational...

Traditional Mass Propers For The Feast Day ofSaint Bernard of Clairvaux( Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost ) 20 August 2006 A.D. Missa Deus In Loco Santo Suo "....Ephpheta, that is, Be thou opened...." "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Mass forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great action. The greatest action that can be on earth. It is. . .the vocation of the Eternal." -- John Henry Cardinal Newman

Iran bans Da Vinci Code TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iran has banned the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" after protests from the country's Christian clergy, the culture ministry said on Wednesday, but the Persian translation is already in its eighth edition. Iranian publishing thresholds have relaxed considerably in recent years and Tehran booksellers have noted an increased appetite for new age and spiritual titles. "Based on the request of three Christian clerics, yesterday we decided to ban its republication," said an official at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance who declined to be named. Most of Iran's Christians...

TEHRAN, July 25 (Mehr News Agency) -- The Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) has called for a ban on the book and film "The Da Vinci Code" in Iran. The decision was made on July 19 during the 48th meeting of the Council for Policy Making on Religions (CPMR), in which the members wrote a letter to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance calling for a ban on the book and the film. CPMR members expressed their disgust at the religious insult contained in the book and film, saying they deemed it offensive to Christianity. Some Internet sources...

The Da Vinci Code's gnosticism is not something that disappeared centuries ago. It survives as the religious substance of today's liberalism and its kindred sects of socialism. Gnosticism is the belief that intellectual elites have secret knowledge about the structure of human society and about the relationship between humans and the cosmos. These elites are thereby empowered to direct human affairs. Gnosticism has surfaced repeatedly over the ages, in modern times in the philosophical underpinnings of the 1789 French Revolution. The Da Vinci Code's depiction of gnosticism as the preserver of the "truth" about Jesus and Christianity falls into the...

Dan Brown’s bestseller fiction novel, The Da Vinci Code, suggests Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife, the mother of Jesus’ offspring, the real Holy Grail and the person meant to lead the church. The book conjectures that just about everything taught about Christ today is a lie, and the truth has been secretly kept from the world because the Bible Gospels promoting the deity of Christ were written in antiquity to hide and cover up the truth. The story casts sinister and wicked shadows on the Roman Catholic Church by implying it murdered to keep the secret about Jesus concealed. Ron...

HYDERABAD: The screening of controversial Hollywood movie "The Da Vinci Code" was suspended at a theatre here after a group of Christians, protesting against the release of the film, ransacked the theatre. The movie was to be released at Prasad Imax following a direction by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, quashing the state government's order to ban its screening. However, dozens of activists under the banner of the Christian United Front raided the theatre and damaged the property extensively forcing the management to suspend the film's screening. The protesters, who were carrying banners and placards describing the film as "Devil's...

In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown tarnishes Judaism with the same stroke that he dismisses Christianity and Islam for their repression of women and of the Sacred Feminine. "The propaganda and bloodshed [of the church] had worked. Today's world was living proof. Women, once celebrated as an essential half of spiritual enlightenment, had been banished from the temples of the world. There were no female Orthodox rabbis, Catholic priests, nor Islamic clerics. The once hallowed act of Hieros Gamos -- the natural sexual union between man and woman through which each became spiritually whole -- had been recast as...

One reason for The Da Vinci Code’s success it that the Catholic Church has made itself a vulnerable target over the last few years, according to Patrick Madrid. Mr. Madrid, who will speak in Toledo on Wednesday night, is an apologist whose role is to defend and explain Catholicism. He said in an interview this week that the church is still reeling from the “two black eyes” it suffered starting in 2002. “First there was the priest scandal, and then the inept handling by bishops. I think the Catholic Church has gotten itself into such a mess, such a public...

Interview With Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli ROME, JUNE 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- New methods are needed to catechize believers in the truths of the Eucharist, says Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli. The monsignor, an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and member of the editorial commission of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is author of "L'Eucaristia, dono incomparabile di Dio agli uomini" (The Eucharist, Incomparable Gift of God to People), published by Ediciones San Clemente. In this interview with ZENIT, Monsignor Martinelli explains how he has worked to meet an increasing need for catechesis. Q: What...

A FRIEND was relating how after her daughter had read the Da Vinci Code, she had wanted to read the Bible. Which is not in itself a bad thing except that she was concerned that an impressionable young mind would not be able to differentiate fact from fiction. Also it seemed that perhaps what was needed is a Da Vinci Code-type book for Muslims to spark off the same level of interest in young people in their own religion. Except that if anyone tried to write a similar thriller based around Islam, they’d be hounded and pilloried and threatened with...

Behind the success of The Da Vinci Code is: * A simple story designed to make stupid people feel smart. * Karl Rove and an insidious attempt to recruit members for Opus Dei.

Announcing: Our Lady of Victory Rally of ReparationThe campaign against The Da Vinci Code is not over.To conclude this epic campaign against The Da Vinci Code, Catholics nationwide will join together in a huge, massive, and final act of reparation in front of Sony’s offices in Manhattan, NY, and Culver City, CA. Wow! Rallies on each coast will take place simultaneously. Sony is responsible for producing and distributing the blasphemous movie.  We are now rushing invitations to 120,000 Catholics. As a core member and organizer of this historic protest, it is important that you attend Our Lady of Victory Rally if...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has banned "The Da Vinci Code" following calls from both minority Christians and majority Muslims, an official said on Sunday. The adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel, the story of a Vatican cover-up involving Christ and his supposed offspring, has made hundreds of millions of dollars around the world since it opened last month. But the screening of the film in Pakistan, or possession of it on video cassettes or discs, was prohibited and unlawful, said Jalil Abbas, secretary of the Ministry of Culture. "The film is sacrilegious to all religions, that's why we did this,"...

Supported by real-life romantic splits and hookups, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn's "The Break-Up" pulled an upset over the mutant world of the "X-Men." "The Break-Up" debuted more strongly than expected with $38.1 million to take over as the No. 1 weekend movie from "X-Men: The Last Stand," which slipped to second place with $34.35 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Aniston's split from Brad Pitt last year and her reported romance that began with Vaughn while filming "The Break-Up" helped keep the movie in the public eye. "They're always in the press," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for...

New Delhi: In less than a week after the delayed release of "The Da Vinci Code" in India, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Pondicherry Thursday joined Goa, Nagaland, Punjab and Tamil Nadu in banning the controversial film. The states of Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh and Union Territory of Pondicherry announced the ban on the film Thursday, while Tamil Nadu decided to ban it Wednesday. Punjab and Nagaland had decided to do so May 25 and May 24, respectively. The Goa government was the first to ban the film after passing a resolution May 16. The film, produced by Columbia Pictures, is...

Polls conducted in France, Britain, Canada, and the US. General public admits Da Vinci Code premise; Catholics less so.Folks, you've heard the expression: "it's only a movie", or "it's just a novel, a work of fiction, get over it!" to those of us who object to Dan Brown's work, The Da Vinci Code and its movie version. Yeah, "fiction" my foot. The work has had an impact upon the general public, which has been led to believe that the plot of these "works of fiction" are "the Truth" with capital letter "T." In France:Out of every 10 people, without distinctions...

IN A paddy-lined valley in the far north of Japan is a municipal signpost inscribed: “Tomb of Christ: next left.” Follow the winding path up into the forest and there, sure enough, is a simple mound with a large wooden cross labelled as the grave of Jesus. Nearby is a tomb commemorating Isukiri, Christ’s brother, adorned with a plastic poinsettia Christmas wreath. For two millennia the farming village of Shingo claims to have protected a tradition that Jesus spent most of his life in Japan. The village is the home of Sajiro Sawaguchi, a man in his eighties who claims...

It never occurred to most of us who worried about the impact of The Da Vinci Code that it would turn out to be a really bad movie. We assumed with its Academy Award--winning director and cast that the movie would magnify the novel's anti-Christian message. And yet film critics are panning, even ridiculing, it. Though millions are indeed going to the theaters to watch this twisted tale of how Christianity is a hoax, that the movie is so aesthetically bad makes it less persuasive and may mitigate the harm that it will do. The website Rotten Tomatoes quantifies what...

Standing behind the stormy campaign around the Da Vinci Code are Masons whose aim is to marginalize the Christian Church Deacon Andrey Kurayev, professor at Moscow Theological Academy and well-known Orthodox theologian, sought to dispel some of the myths underlying and referred to in the Da Vinci Code novel, in an interview to Interfax-Religion. - The stormy campaign around the Da Vinci Code, unexpected but also intriguing for many, has unwittingly put in one’s head the thought about its possible instigators. Simply speaking, qui prodest – who benefits from it? - The Da Vinci Code is a typical conspiracy work...

Russia: Catholic, Orthodox Churches Unite Against European Secularism By Brian Whitmore PRAGUE, May 29, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- As the Moscow Patriarchate's external relations head, Metropolitan Kiril of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, met Pope Benedict XVI earlier this month, a demonstration was taking place in Moscow that would have pleased many in the Vatican. Members of the Union of Orthodox Citizens were picketing the Moscow premiere of the film "The Da Vinci Code," based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel. Central to Brown's novel is the suggestion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child together, with the bloodline continuing to the present...

The news media play an important role in popular culture by providing publicity for the movie studios as films are readied for release. But some movies are more favored by the news media than others, some for their expected status as expensive but appealing blockbusters, and some for their social commentary (for example, the film Brokeback Mountain). The DaVinci Code was both: an expected blockbuster movie based on one of the most publicized works of fiction in the new century, drawing enormous national media interest with its vision of a vast, murderous church conspiracy. It should not be surprising that...