Church Launches New Website Against ‘Da Vinci Code’

The Catholic Church has launched a new website in an attempt to put right the myths and confusion surrounding Christianity and the claims made in The Da Vinci Code, derided as historically unsound and illogical by the Church.

The launch of the website coincides deliberately with the feast of St Mary Magdalene, who according to Brown’s novel, married Jesus and had children with him.

The website, designed by the Catholic Enquiry Office (CEO), a national office of the Church, targets explicitly fans of the book, providing web links to other sites that cite evidence against the novel, as well as biographies of St Mary, Bible extracts and prayers.

The site also includes a question-and-answer section in which flaws in the book are laid out, including the book’s depiction of the Catholic organisation Opus Dei.

Although Brown claims in the preface of The Da Vinci Code "all descriptions of documents and secret rituals are accurate", the site aims to dispel the allegations against Mary Magdalene’s relationship with Jesus.

Clare Ward, a spokesman for the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation, said: "This site is very much a reaction to the number of inquiries we have received from non-Catholics."

She added, "We were disturbed by the nature of some of these, asking if Jesus had been married and whether St Mary Magdalene had children."

The Church aims to educate visitors to the site about Mary Magdalene, who is thought to have been a prostitute transformed by her experience of the love and forgiveness of God to become one of Jesus’ greatest followers.

The site is also designed to dispel the allegation of a secret bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Despite the allegations the book has made, its success has simultaneously stirred up much positive public interest in Christianity, with the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation reporting roughly six calls a day from people interested in converting to Catholicism.

The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. Westminster Abbey recently refused to allow filming of the book on its premises, saying the book was theologically unsound. The film, to be shot in Lincoln instead, will star Sir Ian McKlellen, Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.