Toppo: Sentimental

Ranchi, May 17: Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, chief of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), today asked the representatives of the association to press for a ban on the controversial movie, The Da Vinci Code.

Representatives from CBCI ? the highest body of the Roman Catholic Church in India ? had today attended a special screening of the movie, along with Union I&B minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, to decide if the movie hurts religious sentiments.

Speaking over the telephone, Toppo told CBCI representatives in New Delhi: ?Please, also convey my good wishes to the honourable minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. I hope that he would take a correct decision keeping in view the sentiments of the Christian community in the country.

?I hope the Government of India will not allow screening of the film,? he said.

The cardinal, however, clarified that neither the Church nor the Christian community was in favour of launching any form of violent protests across the country against the movie based on Dan Brown?s best-selling book of the same name.

But, the CBCI chief added, that he hopes the government does not the screening of the film.

?We are not going to fight, nor hit the streets. We would protest in a sensible way and hope that the truth prevails,? Toppo said.

The cardinal pointed out that though the author, Brown, had claimed that the book was a work of fiction, the central figure of the film, Jesus Christ, was not a fictitious figure.

?Jesus is a historical figure. His marrying a prostitute and having offspring, whose progeny lives even to this day, as depicted in the film, is pure blasphemy,? he added.

?The film is a bad portrayal of Christ. It is an attack on the Christian faith. Though the film is slated to open in Rome, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and across the globe on Friday, Christians all over the world would voice their protests in whatever way they deem fit,? Toppo said.

Even people in the more developed world have got into the habit of going to any extent for ?filthy? money, he said.

?Over the past 2000 years, Christianity has survived many such attacks and today it has the largest following in the world. This is a result of hard work by priests and church officials, who have dedicated their lives to work for humanity, particularly in the fields of education and health care,? Toppo said.

He said in the interests of the community, and to protect its morality, it was necessary to lodge their protests.