Who listens to the Roman Catholic Church?
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 The Roman Catholic Church, it would appear, has lost at least some of its influence.
While committed believers in the Church's role on earth most likely heeded Rome's call to ignore the "Da Vinci Code", the $224 million generated by the film during its first weekend of world wide release, would suggest Roman Catholics, in droves, chose to decide the film's merits (or lack of same) for themselves.
Increasingly the Vatican is out of step with 21st Century popular thinking and by extension, behaviour.
Celibacy, a shortage of priests and nus (likely at least somewhat related to the demand of celibacy), a prohibition on female priests, denouncing of homosexuality, while the Church simultaneously and cautiously addresses the issue of gay priests within its clergy, coupled with the scandal of child abuse by men in vestments, all act as contributors to the dimunition of the Vatican's influence.
The Church would have been wise to dismiss the "Da Vinci Code" as a work of somewhat entertaining fiction, in a one time only news release.
Instead, Rome banked on its influence, and denounced the film in the strongest of terms.
Today the church appears to have little choice but to recognize its reduced public impact, and should finally and properly addres the "why's" of that reality.
There must be some truth in there, don't you think?