Da Vinci Code Upsets Opus Dei... Even More

After previously offending the Church of England, Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, soon to be released as a Ron Howard movie at this month's Cannes Festival really upsets the ultra-Catholic group Opus Dei.

Last moth at his Easter speech the Archbishop of Canterbury described the Dan Brown novel and the movie starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou as a conspiracy theory that exploits people's fascination with cover-ups.

Now, as the premiere gets closer the catholic group Opus Dei has asked the studios to add a disclaimer to the movie in order to re-state the fictional character of the things that are to be seen. Ron Howard says he sees no need for a disclaimer labeling the film a work of fiction. So a rebuke on from Catholic group Opus Dei was to be expected.

Dan Brown's best-seller shows Opus Dei as a shadowy sect at the heart of a murderous conspiracy to conceal dark secrets of the early Christian Church. The Oscar-winning (A Beautiful Mind) Ron Howard rejected the request by Opus Dei and added that the fictional character of the movie was beyond any doubt, therefore no disclaimer is needed.

Howard talked to Los Angeles Times on Sunday and said about the controversial disclaimer: "This is a work of fiction that presents a set of characters that are affected by these conspiracy theories and ideas. Those characters in this work of fiction act and react on that premise. It's not theology. It's not history. To start off with a disclaimer ... spy thrillers don't start off with disclaimers."

Opus Dei's U.S. spokesman Brian Finnerty replied: "A disclaimer could have been a way for Sony to show that the company wants to be fair and respectful in its treatment of Christians and the Catholic Church."

A central premise of the Da Vinci Code story is that Jesus had a child by Mary Magdalene, and that a clandestine society has for centuries protected the identity of their descendants from agents of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican also considers the story as blasphemous and has launched its own public relations offensive against the film.

What the religious leaders seem not to understand is that in show-biz more controversy only leads to more audience and that there is no such thing as bad publicity.