Behind the scenes, I've reached an accommodation with my friend, by which I might not be going to hell for having reached my Da Vinci Code (pro or con) saturation point long ago. But in the course of our discussion, it struck me that what's troubling about DVC's impact is not that it takes pot-shots at the Catholic Church (which is tough and can take it), but that so many people seem to be persuaded by an outrageous conspiracy theory (whatever its literary merits or lack thereof).
What does that say about the state of Reason in our culture? The LaRouchites we have always with us, but what does it say when it turns out half the people you know are LaRouchites? (Wait for it, since all RC2 roads lead this way. Ready?) In our time, the Catholic Church is the greatest defender of Reason, and the DVC phenom (I speak not of its popularity as fiction, but of the number of people seemingly shaken to their core by it) only shows how right Benedict 16 is to make the defense of Truth the over-arching theme of his papacy.
