The Da Vinci Code Controversy

Letter to editor - The Times 8th May 2006

The campaign to stop the release of The Da Vinci Code shows us Christians in Malta our true colours, that we are just as intolerant as any other religion in the world.

Only a few months ago we were flabbergasted, shocked, even disgusted at the way Muslims responded to the cartoon characters depicted their prophet. Our response to The Da Vinci Code goes beyond this in typical Roman Catholic style, to shield and ban access to information, whether fact or fiction, from its followers.

Vince Marshall should come out of the closet and realise that in this global world we live in, this film will be seen here in one format or another. If not in the cinema it will be seen on DVD or downloaded from the internet, a few months down the line on satellite, then cable then by one of the Italian stations. When is Mr Marshall's crusade going to end?

What the Church in Malta should really be doing is to conduct an investigation why it urged its followers to take their children to watch The Passion Of The Christ. How this film got a 12 rating when all over the world this movie was rated R. What effect it had on children who had to sit in a cinema for hours watching over exaggerated shots of "Jesus" being crucified and beaten over and over again.

The Da Vinci Code is a fictional story, 40 million bought the book, that's 80 times our population. The film was also partly shot in Malta; that's an achievement!

If Mr Marshall is indeed successful in his bid to ban this film, then there is truth in what they used to say that the Church has really kept us Maltese backwards.

Author  Winston Azzopardi
 
The Times 8th May 2006