The Vatican has a few demons of its own

Despite the recent attempts to downplay the significance of Angels and Demons, Vatican anxiety continues to abound (2). Gianni Gennari, a theologian and columnist for Italian bishops’ daily Avvenire, urged a boycott of Angels and Demons on the basis that the film was part of a plot to undermine the credibility of the church (3). Elsewhere, the response has been equally over-the-top. Explaining why the Angels and Demons filmmakers were forbidden access to various Rome churches, the distinctly untrustworthy-sounding Father Fibbi replied: ‘Usually we read the script, but in this case it wasn’t necessary. Just the name Dan Brown was enough. Angels and Demons peddles a type of fantasy that damages our common religious beliefs, just like The Da Vinci Code did.’ (4)

This reveals much about the current self-perception of the Vatican. To suspect that a series of enjoyable-but-implausible thrillers will plunge Catholics across the world into pangs of Lutheran self-doubt is as absurd as believing that universities will be swimming with aspiring symbologists. If this is what Vatican City really believes, Dan Brown is the least of their worries. For there is nothing more threatening to a Church than a faith which lacks faith in itself.