The movie quickly faded from popularity and the book has finally fallen off the best seller list (for now), but don't be fooled, "The Da Vinci Code" phenomenon is not over yet. Here at home, as around the world, the DVD has yet to be released, and when it is, it will no doubt ignite another round of Code Mania, as many more people who have neither read the book nor seen the movie are enticed into accepting the historical deceptions that carry forward the plot.

More significantly, however, in the international market both the book and the movie continue to make an impact --- doing incalculable damage. Translated into Farsi, Indonesian, Mandarin, Japanese and more than 44 languages in all, whole populations are receiving their first personal exposure to Catholicism through the distortions and fabrications of Dan Brown's novel.

Although a work of fiction, "The Da Vinci Code" claims the basis for its plot to be supported by historically proven facts. In truth, real history is falsified and real historical figures are defamed, and while the claim is made that "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate," more than two dozen books and innumerable internet site continue to disprove this assertion.

At a time when the Vatican continues to use its influence internationally to promote human rights and religious freedom throughout the world, and especially in its deliberations with non-Christian nations, "The Da Vinci Code" presents the image of the Catholic Church as mendacious, deceitful, murderous and violent. As one character in the novel comments, "The church may no longer employ crusaders to slaughter non-believers, but their influence is no less persuasive. No less insidious." The book may be fiction, but the damage done is not fictitious.

The movie invites us to "Seek the Truth," and the novel claims to uncover the "greatest cover up in human history." But what is this truth, what is this cover up?

On the surface the apparent premise of the novel is that the true "holy grail" is Mary Magdalene, not the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper. Through the Magdalene, Jesus' bloodline has continued throughout history until this very day. From the child of Jesus and Mary Magdalene the Merovingian Dynasty of French kings devolved, with descendants contemporary to our own time. A secret society has always known this truth and has kept it alive, though hidden over the centuries. In order to protect its own power and influence in the world, the aim of the Catholic Church has always been to suppress this truth and to assassinate the descendants of the Magdalene. Leonardo Da Vinci, a member of this clandestine society, preserved the secret through codes hidden in his paintings and revealed only to initiates.

Is this, however, the real premise of the book? Underlying this apparent plot line is another premise, another hidden truth that the reader is encouraged to discover, perhaps even to accept. This other premise becomes evident in the lengthy discourses and explanations offered by the characters Teabing and Landon, as they instruct Sophie about what the truth really is.

The "real truth" that supports the plot of "The Da Vinci Code" is that Jesus is not God --- before the fourth century no one thought that he was. He himself never claimed to be God, he never rose from the dead, he is just a man. Through the pagan roman emperor Constantine, the church invented the divinity of Jesus and elevated him to a divine status so as to gain immense influence and power in the world and in history. The leaders of the Catholic Church continue to cover up this truth, to hide from the masses the real facts about Jesus through their lies, deceptions, and violent activities in order to retain their own power and influence in our own day. As one character claims, "We should not be surprised that now, once again, they have found a way to keep the world in the dark. The greatest story ever told is, in fact, the greatest story ever sold."

Is the promotion of this second premise the real intent of the author? Who knows? It's not the first time he has presented such ideas. A similar premise underlies his earlier novel, "Angels and Demons." There, too, we encounter the sinister and insidious Catholic Church, hiding its secrets, preserving its power, claiming to be founded by Jesus, claiming Jesus to be God.

For a gullible readership, such a premise and the supposed facts that support it pose a danger that cannot easily be assessed. For an unsuspecting readership, who know nothing more about the Catholic Church than the accusations leveled in this novel, the damage is incalculable. "The Da Vinci Code" has made Dan Brown a wealthy man, but it has impoverished the rest of us.

This article by Our Lady of the Angels Region Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark was based on a recent workshop he presented during the Second Vietnamese Youth Convention.