Vatican Crusade Against "Da Vinci Code"? Hardly via Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Insight Scoop 2004: TDVC "Expert": "It's ONLY a novel!"

A thought or two: Yesterday I took the time to count the number of articles from a Google search on "Catholic Church". The most cited story was about The DaVinci Code which I find most perplexing given that it isn't like the Pope ordered a full scale battle to rid the world of the novel. The press, however, has treated it this way. I have to agree with Carl at Insight Scoop ... Have your pick ... either "It's just a novel" or it "raises some serious questions about the origins of Christianity" ...

Catholic stories that the Da Vinci Code "smackdown" outperformed included

1. UK Cardinal encourages voters to include abortion when casting their vote
2. Legal haggle over population laws in the Phillipines (lawmakers accused bishops of lying)
3. The Pope's health is improving

Also note that a close second in number of stories was about a lay group looking to help the Church better run itself ... Can we see the priority in the press about the Church?

Yeah .... its just a novel.