Director Ron Howard vs. The Vatican

As the director of The Da Vinci Code and  Angels and Demons, Howard has faced accusations of being “anti-Catholic”.

The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown, was #1 on the New York Best Seller’s List and when released as a film in 2006, made more than $700 million at the box office.  The prequel was not as big, but it still drew movie goers by the millions.  It has all caused quite a stir in the Catholic community.

President of the Catholic League, William “Bill” Donohue, has accused Howard and author Dan Brown of “smearing” the Vatican “with fabulously bogus tales” in Angels and Demons.

Donohue writes that Howard and Brown “have collaborated in smearing the Catholic Church with fabulously bogus tales. And once again, the message conveyed to the audience is invidious: the Catholic Church, which did more to keep the universities open and flourishing during the Middle Ages than any other institution, is painted as anti-reason.”

In Ron Howard’s comeback statements he says, “Let me be clear: neither I nor Angels & Demons are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome. After all, in Angels & Demons, Professor Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican. What, exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?”