Cardinal's plea: Don't read
'Da Vinci Code'

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Earlier Wednesday, when asked on Vatican Radio about commentary that the book’s success is “only further proof of the fact that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice,” the cardinal exclaimed. “It’s the truth.”

“There’s a great anti-Catholic prejudice,” Bertone said. “I ask myself if a similar book was written, full of lies about Buddha, Mohammed, or, even, for example, if a novel came out which manipulated all the history of the Holocaust or of the Shoah, what would have happened?”

Bertone told Reuters he was stunned that Catholic bookstores, even those near the Vatican, were selling the book.

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“It’s impossible to pull the book off shelves of general bookstores ... but certainly not selling it in Catholic bookstores would be a good first step,” he said.

44 languages, millions of copies
Bertone, who was appointed a cardinal by Pope John Paul in 2003, also said he had received much encouragement from fellow bishops and cardinals for his campaign against the book.

“I am happy that a lot of people have been put on the alert and that I have sounded the alarm of vigilance against the spread of this book,” he said.

“I have arrived too late. Millions of copies have been sold. I can’t hope to slow down sales but at least to prompt a critical response,” he said.

Bertone is so incensed about the novel that he will be the key speaker at a roundtable in Genoa on Wednesday night attempting to dismantle the book, which also claims the Church suppressed the female role in Christianity.

He rejected the assertion, saying: “The role of women in the Church is a primary one, starting from Mary, the mother of God.”

In response, book publisher Doubleday said: “The ideas put forth in ’The Da Vinci Code’ have been circulating for centuries; this novel explores them in an accessible work of fiction. Doubleday certainly respects Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican and their desire to clarify any factual errors they feel may have been made in ’The Da Vinci Code’.”

“The Da Vinci Code” was published two years ago this month and is available in 44 languages. Booksellers expect the novel to remain a best seller well into this year.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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