Saturday, September 10, 2005
BISHOP ROBERT C. MORLINO, DIOCESE OF MADISON, WISCONSIN
critiques The Da Vinci Code, saying in part:
what disturbs me most about Dan Brown's book is that it is a primer in practically every new age technique or approach there is, from pentacles and pentagrams to anagrams to numerology to astrology -- you name it -- practically everything on the new age menu finds its place somewhere in this book and it is presented in a way that is attractive and engaging. That's the problem.
The new age movement is very much continuous with the program of the Priory of Zion and certain secret Masonic groups to destroy the credibility of the Catholic Church. This can be done by direct attacks on our faith -- for instance replacing our Blessed Mother as the exemplar of faith with Mary Magdalene, or by causing great confusion among the people that somehow there is a spark of the divine within me that enables me to save myself and to save others without reliance on the grace of Jesus Christ. I simply have to find that secret spark and force within.
That "spark of the divine within" is very much a part of Jewish mystical spirituality, at least as it is explained in popular works on the Kabbalah.
What then is a Catholic to assume when discovering that through interreligious dialogue Jewish mysticism and Catholic mysticism are reduced to a level playing field where the players share their beliefs with each other, and sit together in silent meditation each seeking their own God? This is the sort of interreligious engagement that Taize promotes.
Returning to Bishop Morlino's comments about The Da Vinci Code:
The new age movement has been spreading for years like fire even among Catholics, and it is even possible to adjust the language of Christianity and turn it into an offering in the new age cafeteria. My greatest fear is that someone reading this book might find himself or herself very powerfully invited into this new age world, which is a world that cannot accept that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world -- let there be no mistake about that.
