c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) All the people ticked off by “The Da Vinci Code” will soon have an entire movie to fuel their rage.

The book bashers are especially upset by the pre-prologue page that opens Dan Brown’s thriller _ the one that says “FACT” and then attests to the existence of the Priory of Sion, Opus Dei and the accuracy of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals described by Brown.

Critics say it clouds the truth, especially because Brown proceeds to inject preposterous stories about Jesus, Mary Magdalene and religious conspiracies.

But the more telling entry is three pages earlier:

“This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.”

That publisher’s disclaimer is a better introduction to Brown’s “facts.”

“The Da Vinci Code,” published in March 2003, is a fun, page-turning thriller. It’s also a game, filled with codes, clues, confusion and references to historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci and Sir Isaac Newton. They are used as tripwires in the narrative, the way Benjamin Franklin was used in the Nicolas Cage film “National Treasure” (about crazy codes and a treasure map hidden in the Declaration of Independence).

The story follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and police cryptologist Sophie Neveu from Paris to London to Scotland as they track multiple murders, break a series of codes, learn oodles about the Sacred Feminine and uncover a 2,000-year-old secret.

Director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man”) are bringing the story to the multiplex Friday (May 19) with stars Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.

To help prepare for your weekend viewing pleasure or outrage, here’s a brief breakdown of some of the organizations and artifacts in “The Da Vinci Code:”

_ The Priory of Sion:

It’s a scam.

On his “FACT” page, Brown describes the Priory as a centuries-old secret society whose famous members include Botticelli, Victor Hugo, Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci.

Here’s how Sony Pictures, which produced the film, is explaining the Priory in its press materials:

“Dan Brown contends that the Priory of Sion is a real organization founded in 1099, and that parchments housed at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris reveal that its membership included many leading figures of literature, art and science.”

“However, the documents have been revealed as “modern forgeries placed there by Pierre Plantard, who admitted to having `founded’ the Priory with friends in 1956, either as a lark or part of a con. He was elected the Grand Master of the Priory in 1981.”

_ Opus Dei:

It’s real, and it’s never had more publicity.

In the book, a crazed killer named Silas and his benefactor, Bishop Aringarosa, are members of Opus Dei and take orders from a mysterious “teacher.”

Spanish priest Josemaria Escriva founded Opus Dei (Latin for “Work of God”) in 1928. It has about 83,000 members worldwide, including about 3,000 in the United States. Its mission is to “help people turn their work and daily activities into occasions for growing closer to God.”

Some members practice celibacy, make “limited use” of a cilice (a spiked chain strapped to one’s thigh) as an act of penance and lash themselves with small whips during weekly prayers.

In a posting on its official Web site, http://www.opusdei.org, the organization reminds people that the book is a work of fiction and says Opus Dei is not a “sect” or “cult,” but a “fully integrated part of the Catholic Church.”

“Opus Dei members are “falsely depicted murdering, lying, drugging people and otherwise acting unethically,” and it would be irresponsible “to form any opinion of Opus Dei based on `The Da Vinci Code.”’

Howard intimated in one interview that the organization is represented in the film but not named. Sony Pictures does not mention Opus Dei in any of its press materials.

Opus Dei petitioned Sony last month to slap a disclaimer on the movie. Sony refused.

_ The Knights Templar:

Real, albeit short-lived by historic standards.

The Knights of the Temple were founded around 1118 during the first Crusade and lasted about 200 years. The monastic military order protected Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land and later expanded to a large force with land holdings throughout Europe. They wore a red cross on white tunics.

_ The works of Leonardo da Vinci:

Real. It’s the characters’ interpretations of his creations that have stirred debate.

The brilliant da Vinci (1452-1519) is getting major publicity thanks to Brown. He was the Renaissance Man, succeeding as a painter, sculptor, architect and engineer whose spare time was devoted to discoveries in anatomy, geology, hydraulics and aerodynamics.

In addition to his drawing the “Vitruvian Man,” the three main da Vinci works used in the plot are the “Mona Lisa” (also called “La Gioconda”), “The Virgin of the Rocks” (also called “Madonna of the Rocks”) and “The Last Supper.”

The “Mona Lisa,” perhaps the most famous portrait ever painted, was completed around 1506 and hangs in the Louvre in Paris. “The Virgin of the Rocks” shows the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus, St. John and an angel. It was completed in 1486 and also hangs in the Louvre. “Vitruvian Man,” from 1492, is housed at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice.

“The Last Supper,” the foundation of Brown’s thriller, remains where da Vinci completed it in 1498 _ on the refectory wall of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

(Clint O’Connor is film critic for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.)

KRE/PH END O’CONNOR

Editors: See related sidebar, RNS-CODE-TIMELINE, transmitted May 16. A version of this story is also being transmitted by Newhouse News Service.

FILM REVIEW