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May 17, 2009 - ANGELS and DEMONS

by Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

Once again one of Dan Brown's books hits the big screen and not without the typical swirl of controversy that surrounds his fiction. And FICTION is the operative word. Of course there's controversy because not everyone sees it as fiction, and some prefer to believe in nefarious plots hatched by the Catholic Church to kill all those opposed to it's message. Last time we had OPUS DEI, that secret group within the Church, who were intent on hushing up the truth about Jesus and his secret marriage to Mary Magdalene. Now there's controversy! This time we have The Illuminati, intent on destroying the Church itself. Hmm. I only wish this Church of ours was that exciting. But, alas, truth be told, it's pretty ho-hum. Take it from an insider. And I mean that in the nicest way. Unfortunately, people like Bill Donohue of the Catholic League think they have to defend the faith by writing books and pamphlets discrediting the ludicrous claims of potboiler fiction that doesn't even get some of the supposed historical facts right. I say leave it alone and let people take it for what it is: suspenseful filmmaking that allows our imaginations to run wild for a few hours. Last night I put down my 12 bucks and my 44 dollars for popcorn. I fell asleep in the beginning of the overly-long movie. And then perked up for a visually enticing ending. And by the way, there are some Catholic HEROES in the movie too. Definitely NOT anti-Catholic. Rather balanced I would say. And, after all, in my pursuit of the angelic, it's always good to be informed about what the real demonic forces are capable of - like the ones who set those popcorn price.