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The DA Vinci Code

The DA Vinci Code. FACTS BEHIND THE FICTION. The DA Vinci Code. THE STORY. The DA Vinci Code. The code refers to cryptic messages incorporated in Leonardo’s work. Leonardo was a member of an ancient secret society called “The Priory of Sion”. The DA Vinci Code.

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The DA Vinci Code

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  1. The DA Vinci Code FACTS BEHIND THE FICTION

  2. The DA Vinci Code THE STORY

  3. The DA Vinci Code • The code refers to cryptic messages incorporated in Leonardo’s work. • Leonardo was a member of an ancient secret society called “The Priory of Sion”.

  4. The DA Vinci Code • Its main aim is to preserve a secret: Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and designated her leader of His movement. Mary Magdalene is the real Holy Grail.

  5. Claims • Jesus was a mere man. He had Mary Magdalene as sexual partner who was carrying his child in her womb while he hung on the Cross. • The apostles, who initiated the male-dominated, hierarchical Church, were jealous of her. They persecuted her so in the end, she fled to France where her line “the sacred Feminine” lives up to today.

  6. To suppress the “sacred feminine” line of Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ divinity was invented by the Church through Emperor Constantine who influenced the Council of Nicea (325) to proclaim so. The Church produced Scriptures that would support this doctrine.

  7. Thus, there have always been two parallel lines that trace back to Jesus: • a) the apostolic line (the Church) • b) the Magdalene line which carries the true blood of Jesus, with Mary Magdalene as the Holy Grail.

  8. This secret has been preserved for centuries by an organization called the Priory of Sion. They possess ancient documents -rediscovered by the Knights Templars during the Crusades - which give evidence of this “truth”.

  9. The Priory has kept them hidden, along with the identity of the offspring of Christ and Mary Magdalene whose bloodline continues to this day. • For centuries, the Church has attempted to gain possession of these documents.

  10. THE PLOT • A mysterious “Teacher” offers the head of Opus Dei, Spanish Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, the possibility of gaining possession of the secret documents. He lives at Murray Hill place • Opus Dei finds this proposition attractive. The new Pope views Opus Dei unfavorably and has decided to expel the group from the Catholic Church.

  11. To protect Opus Dei’s position in the Church, Bishop Aringarosa agrees intending to use the secret documents to blackmail the Vatican. He accepts and offers to pay 20 million euros. • The Bishop assigns a numerary, Silas, to carry out the task under the direction of the “teacher”.

  12. The book begins with the numerary carrying out the last of several murders in Paris as he tries to locate the documents. • The last murdered man, it turns out, is the head of the Priory of Sion. Before dying, he leaves several cryptic clues concerning the location of the documents.

  13. The story develops around the race between Opus Dei and the Church on one hand and on the other, an investigative Harvard Professor of religious symbology Robert Langdon and his assistant woman cryptologist of French police, Sophie Neveu to secure documents which reveal this secret. The assistant turns out to be a direct descendant of the Magdalene line.

  14. Facts behind the fiction • Where does the confusion lie?

  15. Dan Brown’s claim that all descriptions of documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate and based specifically on the fact that in 1975, Paris Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers secrets which reveal the story of the Priory of Sion.

  16. In the first place, the basis of this claim does not exist. The alleged secrets of the Priory of Sion are a hoax. • The Secret dossiers which purport to trace the history of the Priory have been publicly admitted by its author Philippe de Cherisey and his patrons Gerarde de Sede and Pierre Plantard as false.

  17. What’s so special about the secret dossiers?

  18. They claim that the legitimate heirs to the throne of France to this day are the Merovingians who are not extinct but have surviving descendants still alive. In order to protect them, a secret society called Priory of Sion was put up which according to some false documents too, had as Grand Masters famous people like Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton.

  19. Where does Jesus and Mary Magdalene fit in?

  20. On the basis of this “secret dossiers” an English actor-director did a documentary about the Priory of Sion. He combined it with the ideas in the book of Robert Ambelain (Jesus ou le mortel secret des templiers) where he claimed Jesus had a partner.

  21. The end result: the Priory of Sion protected the Merovingians not just because they were heirs to the throne but because they were descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. • This same documentary was later made into a book “Holy blood and Holy grail”.

  22. Facts behind the fiction • What about the confusion regarding Opus Dei?

  23. Dan Brown’s information comes from an association of people hostile to Opus Dei (ODAN) which is connected to a much larger anti-cult movement. ODAN’s aggressive opinions on Opus Dei and its founders are in no way shared by the Catholic hierarchy.

  24. Apart from the Bishop, only one member of the Work is portrayed,Silas the Numerary. • He is an albino, dresses like a monk, has taken a vow of celibacy, and spends most of his time praying in his room in the Center. This lifestyle is presented as the norm for numeraries.

  25. The most emphasized aspect of his life is his grotesquely exaggerated corporal mortification. • His fanatical and unthinking loyalty and obedience lead him to commit multiple murders, while believing that he is serving God in doing so.

  26. In general, Opus Dei is presented as traditional, reactionary in doctrine and practice, hostile to Vatican Council II and resists the modernizing tendencies of a new Pope. (For clarifications on the various issues as presented by The Da Vinci Code with regard to Opus Dei, refer to related articles at www.opusdei.org)

  27. Why does such a hoax convince millions of readers?

  28. TDVC brings together two types of tastes: • on one hand, those who hunger after conspiracies and secret societies; • on the other hand, there are those who have an increasingly unashamed and virulent anti-Catholicism.

  29. What can we do?

  30. THE CHRISTIAN’S RESPONSE • Brush up on one’s knowledge of Catholic doctrine especially on key theological issues raised (see www.jesusdecoded.com) • Encourage persons to discuss their views on the book/film, serving as a springboard to guiding them to want to discover the TRUTHS about the Catholic faith; always guiding others with a tone of understanding & charity. • Circulate “The Da Vinci Deception” among different groups. • Conduct short series of doctrinal talks/presentations for different groups on the theological issues raised.

  31. THE CHRISTIAN’S RESPONSE • Encourage media contacts to write articles as antidotes to the confusion sown by the book. • Encourage publishing firms/dioceses to publish booklets on the doctrine of theological issues raised. • For clarifications on Opus Dei, direct persons to the official website of Opus Dei (www.opusdei.org) where they can find the answers to issues raised by the book.

  32. The DA Vinci Code The fact is, it is fiction. The fact is, it is business.

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