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Is the book The Da Vinci Code allowed to be in Catholic school libraries?
- Aileen
Dear Aileen:
As you may know, education in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction, so in most cases the Ministry of Education is responsible for defining what is suitable reading material for use in Ontario schools. The Ministry issues a document called Circular 14 which lists approved texts. The document, however, pertains only to major texts, such as classroom readers or math and science books. The approval of other reading materials, such as school library books, is left to the individual school boards.
There seems to be considerable variety in how school boards approve library books, but many of them handle the situation by having a review committee compile a list of recommended books. From this list, school librarians then select books for their individual schools. In some instances, librarians are also permitted to purchase books not on the recommended list, as long as they are prepared to defend their choice. Other school boards leave the matter entirely in the hands of school librarians, and only learn of the presence of certain books whenever complaints are lodged.
In books dealing with faith and morals, you may have seen the words nihil obstat and imprimatur on the inside cover. Sometimes an author, to ensure that his book is free of doctrinal error, will submit his manuscript to a bishop or other Church authority for his examination. Normally the bishop will assign the reading of the text to a deputy, who, if the book complies with Church teaching, will issue a nihil obstat, a phrase meaning 'nothing stands in the way.' When this happens, the bishop then usually issues his imprimatur, which says in effect, 'let it be printed.' The nihil obstat and imprimatur are an important help to Catholic teacher librarians, and heads of religion departments, enabling them to identify suitable books to place on the religion shelves of the library, and a useful guide, too, for students looking for appropriate Catholic reading material.
Otherwise the Church does not have a large say in the selection of school books, except in the case of classroom religion texts which normally must be approved by the Conference of Catholic Bishops. Nor does the Church, generally speaking, issue statements about particular fiction books. Sometimes the Church will issue a caution about a specific text written by a Catholic theologian if such a book contains doctrinal error, but even that is a rare occurrence.
Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code contains a number of attacks on the Catholic Church, plus distorted information about Mary Magdalene, the New Testament canon, the Council of Nicaea, and so on. While an argument can often be made for literary license in a work of fiction, Brown's claims of factual accuracy must lead us to judge his book by a different standard, especially when the author uses those 'facts' to attack Christianity in general, and the Catholic Church in particular.
Sometimes, too, an argument is made on behalf of an otherwise objectionable book on the grounds of high literary merit, but from all accounts The Da Vinci Code is especially badly written.
Brown's book has been the subject of numerous articles and several entire books debunking the claims he makes in his story. Maclean's magazine and Crisis magazine are but two of the many publications which have printed extensive criticisms of the book. Amy Welborn's De-Coding Da Vinci and Carl Olsen's The Da Vinci Hoax are two of apparently ten books devoted to exposing Brown's many distortions. Does your school library also offer books and magazines like these, which present counter-arguments, uncovering the many falsehoods, or does The Da Vinci Code stand alone on your library shelves unchallenged? The answer to that question might help you decide whether or not Brown's anti-Catholic views are being intentionally promoted.
The purpose of Catholic schools, as reflected in the mission statements of their school boards, is to foster, with conviction and dedication, the cause of an education which is positively Catholic, that is, Catholic in its teachings, values and ideas. With so many wonderfully well-written fiction and non-fiction books to choose from, it is a mystery why such an apparently anti-Catholic book would be on the shelves of a Catholic school library. Any students who really desire to read The Da Vinci Code can easily purchase it from their local bookstore or borrow it from one of the city public libraries.
In addition to providing resources to support the general school curriculum, the Catholic school library has a serious duty also to provide good, solid Catholic literature that builds up our faith, rather than material like The Da Vinci Code that tries to tear it down. Catholic school boards must ensure their school libraries are much more than just conveniently located, mini-versions of the public library. If they are unwilling or unable to do this, why have a Catholic system at all?
God bless,
Father Norbert