A pastoral letter published by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines emphasized that "to counter a false hypothesis, knowledge of history and religion is called for."
Manila (AsiaNews) The Church "does not manipulate the revealed truth. It serves it", said the bishops of the Philippines. They are proposing to "educate all those who intend to watch the 'Da Vinci Code' before it is screened in cinemas". The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) plans to implement this objective "merely by defending the truth revealed to us by Christ".
In a pastoral letter signed by its chairman, Mgr Angel N. Lagdameo, the CBCP called on believers in the Philippines to "serenely affirm the fundamental truths of our faith". The bishops said the "book on which is based the film of the same name, is a work of fiction", but they warned of the peril that such "fiction may shape the imagination and stir emotions that this fiction is based on historical fact."
To counter the hypothesis presented in the book, the bishops have prepared a guide about "how to respond to the false claims in the work", to be "distributed in parishes, dioceses, and Catholic schools". The stated aim is that of "verifying the poor accuracy and reliability of the historical research on which the script is based", and "revealing the errors it contains".
"The thesis of the author, Dan Brown, sounds so convincing to many of his readers simply because of insufficient knowledge of Church matters, the Catholic faith and history," read the document.
The last point emphasized is "the important of the Gospel truth". Mgr Lagdameo wrote: "Jesus is man and God: full awareness of this reality is not attained by mere historical reconstruction or fantastic human speculation."
He added: "The witness of believers of Christ, starting from the apostles to saints and martyrs of our time, constitutes the most reliable 'evidence" about the truth of Jesus. The Church does not manipulate revealed truth. It serves the truth."