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Jesuit sees novel as 'junk food'
Q & A
As The Da Vinci Code continues to maintain its perch at the top of national bestseller lists, a new round of books explaining and debunking some of the book's "factual" claims is now hitting bookstores. In secrets of the Code, editor Dan Burstein gathers together a number of scholars and experts to help readers better understand the remarkably popular novel. Included in the new book is a lengthy excerpt from a 1995 article written by Jesuit Fr. James Martin in America magazine about Opus Dei, one of the chief villains in Brown's novel. In this wide-ranging interview, Martin, associate editor of America, discusses the facts and the fiction behind Opus Dei's nefarious role in The Da Vinci Code.
NCR: How much did you know about Opus Dei before writing your 1995 article "Opus Dei in the United States"?
Martin: I knew very little about what they really did, and I think that mirrors the experience of a lot of American Catholics. While they might have heard of Opus Dei, they're pretty vague about what it does, what its purpose is, where it's located and how influential it is in the church. And in my research, I found that articles and books on Opus Dei generally take two different tacks. Either it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, it's the only way to holiness for Catholic lay people and it's this marvelous organization that does nothing but good, or Opus Dei is this evil, cult-like, almost dangerous organization that should never be trusted. I thought it was very strange that there was this dichotomy. So what I tried to do in my article was to present a more balanced view.
In general, most of the people in Opus Dei are good and decent Catholics. However, there are a lot of things that the organization does that deserve a little scrutiny.
What are some of the good things they do?
Opus Dei's mission, essentially, is to encourage Catholic lay people to live holy lives in the world. And you can't get more positive than that. They encourage people to lead Christian lives of prayer and service and to join together in community.
Are there other groups who...