Da Vinci Code

Bishop Javier Echevarria Rodriguez, the head of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei says he prays every day for author Dan Brown and the people behind the film of his novel "The Da Vinci Code", which portrays his movement as secretive and murderous.

Opus Dei, was hosting a public relations campaign in Italy to counter what it says is an offensive portrait of Christianity, the Catholic Church and Opus Dei itself.

Opus Dei, which is headquartered in Rome, invited media to one of its vocational schools in a working class section of the Italian capital, to show off some of the work that it does in helping to train young people to be mechanics, electricians and chefs.

The Da Vinci Code.

Brown said he was pleased with the verdict and was keen to get back to work on his new novel.

High Court judge Peter Smith rejected a copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," who claimed that Brown's blockbuster "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 nonfiction book.

Mr Justice Peter Smith, said The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail did not have a central theme in the way its authors suggested.

"It was an artificial creation for the purposes of the litigation working back from the Da Vinci Code," he ruled.

Both books explore the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child and the bloodline survives to this day.

The Da Vinci Code is still in the UK top 10 book sales chart, while The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is back in the top 40 thanks to the controversy.

Smith said it was not for him to decide whether Baigent was "extremely dishonest or a complete fool," but called him a "thoroughly unreliable witness."

The two historians will have to pay over $2 million in court costs. But despite losing the case, they've also had a win. Sales of their book have soared by more than 600 per cent in the last month; they've sold 90,000 books since the trial began.

And the case has also boosted sales of Dan Brown's novel and provided free publicity for the film
Meanwhile the BBC is reporting that a religious group in Korea has applied for a provisional injunction to stop the release of the movie version of the novel The Da Vinci Code.

The Christian Council of Korea (CCK) filed its application in Seoul against the film's distributor Sony Pictures, according to Screen International.

Dan Brown's bestselling book suggests Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child.

CCK said the film was "an insult and defamation" of the holiness of Jesus Christ and the Bible.

The group added that they were "concerned about the damage that would be caused to individuals' faith" because of the film's content.

The film stars Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou and is directed by Ron Howard.

"The Da Vinci Code," directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, opens on May 19.

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Thanks DW.