Anti-pornography group asks GMA to ban ‘The Da Vinci Code’

Comparing the author of the best-selling "The Da Vinci Code" to Adolf Hitler, an anti-pornography group yesterday asked President Arroyo to ban the showing of the film version of Dan Brown’s controversial novel.

Declaring that allowing "the most pornographic and blasphemous film in history" to be shown would "break" the Christian faith around the world, the Philippine Alliance Against Pornography Inc. (PAAP) said the President should order the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Customs to confiscate and destroy master copies of the film, which stars Tom Hanks.

In a statement, PAAP spokesman Aldo Filomeno said copies of Brown’s books available in bookstores and related establishments should also be destroyed.

Finally, the group wants Brown to be declared persona non grata in the country.

The PAAP also appealed to Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and other religious groups to help in stopping the showing of the controversial film.

The "Da Vinci Code," a work of fiction, claims that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and even had children with her, including the Merovingian kings of France, Filomeno noted.

The novel claims that the fabled Holy Grail was actually Magdalene, not the chalice used in the Last Supper, and that Magdalene’s womb served as the "chalice" from which the royal blood of Jesus flowed forth in posterity.

Because of these claims, Filomeno said the book’s film version is considered unconstitutional, illegal and immoral.

Filomeno said showing "Da Vinci Code," which is scheduled for worldwide release during the first week of May, would be in gross violation of Presidential Decree 1986 and Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code.

He noted the law prohibits any film that offends religious beliefs, defames a person whether dead or alive, and violates Filipino contemporary values, customs, laws and edicts.

"The clerics should remember their responsibility to protect the flock. As shepherds they are mandated by God that no sheep will bite this poisonous film, go astray and die," Filomeno stressed.

Filomeno said he got hold of a copy of the VCD documentary titled "The Da Vinci Code Deception," which he said clearly "shatters the disturbing claims against Jesus Christ.’’

Filomeno added the documentary said Brown was attempting to "solve the 2,000-year-old mystery that Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father."

"Dan Brown’s best selling fiction thriller, ‘Da Vinci Code,’ ignited a worldwide controversy with his opening statement: ‘All description of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in the novel are accurate,’" Filomeno said.

He said that world historians and theologians have debunked the claims of Brown, saying there in no such thing as "The Da Vinci Code."

"Much less, all the factual claims of Brown are diabolical, illogical, baseless, out of this world," he said.

Filomeno said Brown’s book depicted world-renowned artist Leonardo da Vinci as an atheist who rocked the teachings of the Church during his time.

"Theologians and historians revealed that Da Vinci had no personal agenda. He was a Christian all his life. In fact, he received the last sacrament before he died and wanted a Christian proceeding to give respect to his death," Filomeno pointed out.

"Therefore, theologians and historians are unanimous (in saying) that Brown is the one having a code. That is to conquer the world with greed for billions (of dollars in) profits. Brown is the modern-day Adolf Hitler. By his highly questionable writings, he wants to destroy the divinity of Christ so the world will worship his evil empire," Filomeno said.