Mar 22, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code is “a bunch of hot air” and nothing to get worked up about, said Archbishop Thomas Collins of Edmonton last week.
Although some bishops are urging Catholics not to read the book, Archbishop Collins told the Edmonton Journal that he would not follow suit. He said he doesn’t think condemning the book is very helpful.
He compared it to “an anti-Catholic Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
He admitted that the book’s plot is very gripping but it is loaded with inaccurate information.
“It's all put together in a concoction that appeals to conspiracy theorists antagonistic to the Catholic Church," he was quoted as saying.
The best thing to do is to give people truthful information, he said.
Earlier last week, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, archbishop of Genoa urged Catholics not to buy it.
Archbishop Collins said he understands that some church leaders feel that if they don’t say anything people will believe what they read to be true.