The DaVinci Code: More than "Just a Novel"
by Mark J. Hornbacher

"It is just a novel—why make a big deal about it?"

When trying to defend the Catholic Church against the claims of Dan Brown's popular novel The DaVinci Code, many Catholics encounter this kind of reasoning. The fact is, novels can be powerful vehicles for either truth or falsehood, and The DaVinci Code, aggressively publicized and now made into a Hollywood movie, has drawn in hundreds of thousands of people by its constant (and false) portrayal as being "scholarly," "well-researched" and "fact-based," leading some Christians to question their faith.

To prepare seminarians and others in the Sacred Heart community to respond ably to the challenge of The DaVinci Code, Fr. Daniel Jones, assistant professor of theology, asked Dr. John Hannigan to give his presentation on the book's manifold concerns. Dr. Hannigan is a professor at Wayne State University and a crack Catholic apologist. His "Debunking The DaVinci Code" was held April 21 in the seminary's auditorium, complete with Powerpoint media and time for questions and answers.

Apologist Dr. John Hannigan systematically debunks the claims
of The DaVinci Code at a presentation on April 21.

For those who do not know the basic premise of the book, imagine a secret society of mostly European intellectuals, dedicated for centuries to keeping alive the secret that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God but was in fact married to Mary Magdalene, and that their bloodline continues to this day. Imagine the Catholic Church dedicated since her origins to stomping out this "truth," not shrinking from vile means to carry out a mission of deception for two millennia.

Sound far-fetched? Of course it is.

But couched as it is with claims about the history of art, the Church and the search for the "Holy Grail," it can, in fact, be quite enticing for those who would like to see the Church discredited, and rather disturbing for those faithful who do not have solid grounding in history and doctrine.

These claims, therefore, need to be addressed. Dr. Hannigan's presentation did just that.

"One of the most insidious things about Dan Brown's approach," explained Dr. Hannigan, is its "relativist and reckless disregard for historical and religious truth." Examining the more important subjects that Brown misrepresents in the novel, Hannigan proceeded to "debunk" the author's claims one-by-one. It was indeed made clear to all who attended the Friday evening event that The DaVinci Code is not "just a novel," but a novel that, by its content and manner of presentation, attempts to strike at the very roots of our faith in Jesus Christ as God and Savior, and effectively spreads falsehoods about him.

In short, the ideas presented in The DaVinci Code are simply contemporary forms of ancient heresies the Church sadly has been forced to confront since the early days of Christianity, and thoroughly refute.

Learn more about The DaVinci Code at the USCCB website www.jesusdecoded.com. Contact Dr. Hannigan at j.hannigan@wayne.edu to schedule a presentation to your parish or organization.