c. 2006 Religion News Service

British Judge Rules for `Da Vinci Code’ Author

LONDON (RNS) Britain’s High Court ruled Friday (April 7) that author Dan Brown did not plagiarize and breach the copyright of an earlier book in writing his global best-selling novel “The Da Vinci Code.”

Two of the three authors of “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” had claimed that Brown lifted parts of their 1982 book, which theorizes that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child, and that the bloodline continues to this day.

“The Da Vinci Code,” which has sold more than 40 million copies and has reportedly made Brown the highest-paid author in history, explores a similar theme to the 1982 book.

Brown conceded in testimony during the five-week trial that the earlier book was one of a number of sources that he used in researching “The Da Vinci Code,” which was published in 2003. However, he insisted that he had not copied its central premise, nor had he even finished reading it.

Director Ron Howard’s film adaptation of the book, starring Tom Hanks, is due in U.S. theaters May 19.

The 71-page ruling by High Court Justice Peter Smith said “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” did not have a central theme in the way its authors suggested. The theme was instead “an artificial creation for the purposes of the litigation working back from `The Da Vinci Code,”’ he said.

“Even if the central themes were copied,” Smith said, “they are too general or too low a level of abstraction to be capable of protection by copyright law.”

The case brought by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh “has failed,” the judge said. “Dan Brown has not infringed copyright. None of this amounts to copying `The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.”’

The publicity-shy Brown said the court’s ruling “shows that this claim was utterly without merit. I’m still astonished that these two authors chose to file their suit at all.”

The judge ordered Baigent and Leigh to pay 85 percent of the costs incurred by Brown’s publisher, Random House, estimated at $2.25 million, and their own costs of $1.4 million. He also denied them any right to appeal.

_ Al Webb

Notre Dame to Allow `Vagina Monologues,’ Gay Film Series

(RNS) A gay film festival and the play “The Vagina Monologues” will continue to have a place at the University of Notre Dame, the school’s president has announced, ending several months of debate over whether the events were appropriate for a Catholic campus.

In January, Notre Dame President John I. Jenkins had suggested that sponsoring the play and the festival conflicted with the mission of the prominent Catholic university.

Jenkins said Wednesday (April 5) that he weighed the thoughts of hundreds of faculty, administrators, students and alumni since then, and found no reason to disallow the events.

“I am determined that we not suppress speech on this campus,” Jenkins said in a statement. “I am also determined that we never suppress or neglect the Gospel that inspired this university.”

Jenkins had questioned the place of “The Vagina Monologues” and the “Queer Film Festival” at Notre Dame, saying he found it “problematic” that both were sponsored by university departments in the past several years.

“I believe they are instances of events which appear to imply endorsement of views that are in conflict with fundamental values of Notre Dame as a Catholic university,” Jenkins said in January.

In Wednesday’s statement, however, which he deemed his “closing statement” on the subject, Jenkins said the principal challenge was to balance the academic freedom of Notre Dame’s students with the school’s Catholic mission.

The solution regarding “The Vagina Monologues” was to produce the play in a classroom, followed by panel discussions. The “Queer Film Festival” was renamed “Gay and Lesbian Film: Filmmakers, Narratives and Spectatorships.”

Bishop John D’Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, where Notre Dame is located, voiced displeasure with the university’s announcement, citing what he called the play’s positive depictions of a sexual relationship between a woman and an adolescent female, masturbation and lesbian sex as contrary to the church’s moral teachings.

“(The play) distorts the beautiful gift of human sexuality, clouding its richness so it becomes merely the seeking of pleasure,” he said in a statement. “… I regret the sponsorship of this play by Notre Dame this year, and pray it will be the last time.”

Several Catholic universities, including Xavier University in Cincinnati in 2003, have banned the play from their campuses.

_ Nate Herpich

Christian Reformed Leader Reinstated After Misconduct Allegations

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) A minister who was forced to step down from the top executive post in the Christian Reformed Church last year because of alleged inappropriate conduct has been reinstated to active ministry.

The council of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Lansing, Ill., recently voted to lift a six-month suspension of the Rev. Calvin Bremer, a member of the suburban Chicago congregation.

Bremer was put on suspension last September after he was forced to step down as the newly appointed executive director of the Grand Rapids-based denomination in August. Bremer admitted to an inappropriate relationship with a female colleague with whom he worked closely when he was director of the “Back to God Hour.”

The reinstatement makes Bremer eligible to be called as a minister to one of the denomination’s more than 1,000 congregations. The local church council said it “heartily recommends” Bremer.

“I’m delighted they lifted the suspension and glad it’s over with,” said Bremer, a 58-year-old married father of two. Bremer said he will “explore a number of possibilities,” including ministry, nonprofit work or business.

The denomination’s Board of Trustees, however, issued a carefully worded statement in response to the council’s action, saying further comment would be “difficult at this time.” The board has no direct oversight over the church in Illinois that reinstated Bremer.

The Rev. Peter Borgdorff, the denomination’s interim executive director, said the 30-member board has “reservations” about the reinstatement, “partly because it’s fairly soon after the suspension was imposed.”

“We had discussions about the propriety of the council’s action,” Borgdorff added. “It would be an overstatement to say we tried to argue them out of it, but we did raise concerns.”

_ Charles Honey

Lawmakers Make Overture to Catholic Bishops on Immigration

WASHINGTON (RNS) Three congressional leaders have reached out to U.S. Catholic bishops in an attempt to reconcile their differences on a House immigration bill that would classify illegal aliens as felons.

In a letter to the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, the three House committee chairmen pledged to try to convince Congress to soften the felony provision. They also told the bishops they share similar concerns about human trafficking across the borders.

“We sincerely hope we can work together in a cooperative manner for meaningful immigration reform that is fair, compassionate, and reflective of our shared values,” said the letter from Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that crafted the immigration bill.

The Wednesday (April 5) letter was also signed by Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee; and Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House International Relations Committee.

Many Catholic bishops oppose the House immigration measure, saying it’s a harmful approach to illegal immigration and would criminalize outreach to migrants.

The lawmakers said they had tried to lessen the penalty for illegal national residence from a felony to a misdemeanor, but that move was rejected “because all but eight of our Democratic colleagues decided to play political games by voting to make all illegal immigrants felons.”

“A felony penalty is neither appropriate nor workable,” the chairmen added. “We remain committed to reducing this penalty and working with you to this end.”

The letter clarified that “good Samaritans” would not be charged for assisting immigrants, nor would they have to card anyone seeking their care at soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

Kevin Appleby, director of migration and refugee policy for the bishops conference, said he was surprised by the letter and appreciates the congressmen’s “good-faith effort.” Appleby said the bishops agree with the chairmen’s stance on human trafficking, calling it “a scourge on our country and the world.”

“However, we do not believe the provisions in the House bill which affect us are necessary to process human traffickers. There’s sufficient laws in the books (that do that),” Appleby said. “So we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to work with the congressmen to strike the language that threatens any humanitarian providers.”

_ Piet Levy

Quote of the Day: Princeton University Professor Robert Wuthnow

(RNS) “Academics often think of conservative Christians as rubes and dupes. The reality is that the real movers and shakers behind the evangelical movement are highly educated, thoughtful people with entrepreneurial skills, wealth and extraordinary management savvy.”

_ Robert Wuthnow, professor of social sciences at Princeton University, commenting on a comprehensive study by D. Michael Lindsay, a sociology department doctoral student he is advising. Lindsay’s study of the evangelical elite will be completed this summer. He was quoted in the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.

KRE/PH END RNS