Father Joseph Soria, a priest of the prelature of Opus Dei, describes The Da Vinci Code as "the biggest lemon" in literary history.
"Dan Brown has made more money with one single book than has any other writer. He has done this without being an expert in history, art, theology, or cryptography," Father Soria remarks. He adds that, judging from the novel’s lack of literary merit and his previous novels’ mediocre success, Brown doesn’t seem to be that great a writer either, despite his erstwhile career as an English teacher.
How did The Da Vinci Code become such a big hit?
"The book combines elements attractive to a broad spectrum of readers," Father Soria explains.
"It contains suspense, secrets, a puzzle, a hint of romance, and a conspiracy theory, with the Catholic Church as the bad guys, particularly the hierarchy, consistently referred to by Dan Brown as the Vatican, even when talking about periods when the Vatican did not yet exist."
He also observes that most people are susceptible to the written word: "If it’s in print, then it must be true."
Main errors regarding the Christian faith, the Church, and Catholic institutions
Many members of the clergy as well as lay scholars and theologians argue that there are several major errors in Brown's book.
First of all, there is the novel’s preoccupation with radical feminist notions of the "sacred feminine." As Carl E. Olson and Sandra Meisel explain in their book, The Da Vinci Hoax, "The major theme of Brown’s novel is the call to a recovery of the ‘sacred feminine’ and a revitalized worship of a goddess or goddesses."
Father Soria points out that for all his dedication to the sacred feminine, Brown makes no reference to Mary, the Blessed Mother of God and Queen of Heaven. Instead, he chose Mary Magdalene as the embodiment of the sacred feminine principle. However, he preferred to portray her as the spouse of Jesus Christ and the mother of their child, envied and persecuted by the apostles and defamed by the Church as a prostitute, rather than as the holy woman who in fact is revered by both Eastern and Western Churches, and whose feast-day Christians have celebrated since the eighth century.
Errors about the divinity of Christ
The main error in this area, says Father Soria, is denying the Catholic dogma about the divinity of Christ: that Jesus, true man, is also true God. To prove his theory, Brown relied heavily on the Gnostic gospels, which were written at least 200 years after the resurrection of Jesus and which have been rejected as false by all Christian communities throughout the ages.
Compare that, says Father Soria, to the true Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all of which have much earlier origins and share a coherence and purity of teaching not to be found in other, later gospels.
Another problem with Brown’s use of the Gnostic gospels, says Father Soria, is that they do not even support the novel’s assertion that Jesus was only a man, except through selective and out-of-context quotes. The Gnostic idea of Jesus as a spirit who only looked like a man completely contradicts the mortal Jesus of Brown’s novel.
Some clarifications about Opus Dei
Finally, Father Soria made some clarifications about Opus Dei, which was also misrepresented in the novel by the character of a murderous albino monk.
With a touch of humour, Father Soria stresses that there are no monks or nuns, albino or otherwise, in Opus Dei. "There are about two thousand of us priests in Opus Dei. The rest of the members are lay men and women, both married and single." He wants to emphasize Opus Dei’s fundamentally lay character, and its mission to help people turn their work, relationships, and daily activities into opportunities to grow closer to God, to serve others, and to improve society.
Judging from the articles posted on their website in connecton with The Da Vinci Code, Opus Dei has responded to Dan Brown and his book in much the same way Father Soria has done at the local level in his own diocese: by teaching, explaining, and disemminating the truth about Christianity, the Catholic Church and Catholic institutions. Their attitude can be summed in the words of Msgr. Frederick Dolan, Vicar of Opus Dei in Canada: "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade."
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