'Da Vinci Code' Worries To Deepen?

Pizzey: Upcoming Movie May Give Church More Cause To Fret

(CBS)  Millions of people already have read the best-selling novel, "The Da Vinci Code."

But now, a top leader of the Roman Catholic Church, who's been mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II, is urging Catholics not to buy the book, calling it a "sack full of lies."

CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey reports on The Early Show that, as worried as the Vatican might be "about losing theological ground" to the work of fiction, the worst may be yet to come.

It seems, Pizzey says, that the call of the bells of Rome are no match for "The Da Vinci Code" when it comes to getting people interested in religion.

So, the Vatican has appointed the Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to rebut what the church says are lies, distortions and errors in the novel.

"I feel I have a duty as a pastor to warn people to be careful and vigilant about this book," Bertone says.

A major concern, Pizzey explains, is that readers will believe everything in the novel, such as the suggestion that a figure in Da Vinci's painting of "The Last Supper" is Mary Magdalene, and that she and Christ had a child.

A statement from the publishers expressed respect for Cardinal Bertone's and the cburch's desire to correct any factual errors they may find in the novel.

The problem with that, as anyone with even minimal knowledge of the church will tell you, is just figuring out where to start, Pizzey exclaims.

"It's a comedy of errors," complains Father John Wauck, a theologian. "It's a page-turner in the sense that you're wondering what he's going to get wrong next," he tells Pizzey.

But, Pizzey points out, the tourists following "The Da Vinci Code" tours may not be so well-versed in the medieval references used in the plot.

"You probably learn more watching 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' about history and theology than reading 'The Da Vinci Code,' " Wauck asserts.

A movie of the book, starring Tom Hanks, is in the works.

And, observes Pizzey, given that Hollywood's ability to blur fact and fiction may exceed even the charges leveled against Dan Brown's work, it's yet another reason for the church to worry that "The Da Vinci Code" version of religion will be a more popular call than the bells of Rome.