anyone read it-i keep meaning to but never have the time. what you guys think?

The Roman Catholic Church in Italy has spoken out against what it says are "shameful and unfounded lies" in the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, broke the church's official silence on the controversial book.

Its story about the Church suppressing the "truth" that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene has convinced many fans.

But the cardinal's spokesman denied reports that the clergyman was asked by the Vatican to hit back at the book.

Carlo Arcolao told the BBC's News website that it had been the cardinal's own decision to make a public statement about the book.

Mr Arcolao confirmed that the cardinal told an Italian newspaper: "It astonishes and worries me that so many people believe these lies."

The archbishop told Il Giornale: "The book is everywhere. There is a very real risk that many people who read it will believe that the fables it contains are true."

The book's publishers Random House were currently unavailable for comment.

The Da Vinci Code, by US author Dan Brown, has been a publishing sensation around the world and is still in best-seller lists.

Its conspiracy theories and thriller style, in which two code-breakers try to track down the truth behind the Holy Grail, have caught the imaginations of millions.

Its central claim is that the Holy Grail is really the bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene - which the Church is supposed to have covered up, along with the female role in Christianity.

Brown has previously said: "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact."

'Unmask lies'

On Wednesday, Cardinal Bertone will host a seminar called Storia Senza Storia (Story Without History) to rebut the claims.

He said he wanted "to unmask the lies" so readers could see how "shameful and unfounded" the book was.

The cardinal has been deputy to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man known as "the Pope's enforcer" and a possible successor to the pontiff.

As well as the original novel, published in 2003, another 10 books have been written to debunk its claims and a booming tourist industry has sprung up around its sites.

It is also being turned into a film starring Tom Hanks, Jean Reno and Audrey Tautou. Publisher Transworld was unavailable for comment.

 

Did you see that program with tony robinson in investigating this the other week?
that was really interesting, although i dont believe in any religon it did make me think

 

i do believe (not catholic tho b4 u ask lol), i saw sum of it but i had visitors so cudnt hear most of it

wellinteresting tho

 

Read it cover to cover in three days Loved it, wanna check out Dan Brown's other books now.

Clearly a lot of controversy on the subject, I think it's up to individuals to look up the history records, etc... to make their minds up.

However, if you forget all the fiction/reality stuff, it's still a great read

 

Frog,

Read the others - they are fantastic. Angels and Demons makes for a cracking read. Deception Point and Digital Fortress are both very good, but not quite up there with the other two.

Dan Brown is up there with Wilbur Smith as being a superb adventure writer, and both have the ability to write "un-put-downable" novels.

As much as I enjoyed the Da Vinci Code, there is a lot of rubbish spoke about a lot of the stuff. However, if it gets people interested in more cultural things, it's no bad thing.

 

Thanks Rich, flying from gatwick tomorrow, so I'll pick one or two up, see if I can read them all in three days

 

He ripped off blood lines, all tosh but worth a read

 

Same could be said for the bible

 

Funny thing is, that's exactly what the book is about, the church hiding the truth from the masses, when the church goes on about a book like the archbishop has, you have to wonder if there isn't some truth in the book itself

 

Still haven't finished reading it cos I'm too busy...started it about 2 months ago