How sad it is to hear an educated man like Cardinal Arinze or Archbishop Amato of the Vatican's doctrinal office make the comments they have made about the book "The Da Vinci Code" and the soon-to-be-released movie of the same name ("Cardinal backs 'Da Vinci' lawsuit," Reuters, May 8).
Such comments do little more than invite a comparison with Muslim fanatics killing and destroying because of what they believe to be a blasphemy against their faith.
That the cardinal invites a more civilized response -- legal action -- is little different from inciting a riot; it is only a matter of degree. In free societies, we do not have the right to silence those with whom we disagree or to initiate the use of force in any way, shape or form to do so.
What is even sadder, and profoundly so, is the lack of faith such statements reveal.
To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, either we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, or we do not. He offers us no other choices.
A person of faith is hardly going to have that faith shaken by a fictional novel or a movie based on a story that revolves around conspiracy theories that have been around for centuries.
I am disappointed that Cardinal Arinze has so little faith in Catholics as to think that a work of fiction could have much of an impact on what we believe.
Mike HenningerBrentwood
