Vatican considers call for boycott of Angels & Demons

THE Vatican might be gearing up for an official call for a boycott of Angels & Demons, Ron Howard’s big-budget follow-up to The Da Vinci Code.

Avvenire, the Vatican’s official newspaper, ran a story noting that the Church “cannot approve” of such a problematic film.

The Turin daily La Stampa, meanwhile, said the Vatican would soon call for a boycott of the film, though the same article also quoted Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, who warned against a “boomerang effect” that could call attention to the film and eventually make it more popular.

The Vatican press office declined to comment on the reports when contacted.

Producers requested permission from Church officials to film parts of Angels & Demons in the Vatican, but were denied.

Scores of Church officials called for a boycott of The Da Vinci Code when it was released in 2006.

However, that had little effect on the popularity of the thriller, which is based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown.

The film earned an estimated $760 million (e560m) in worldwide box-office receipts.

Angels & Demons features many of the same characters as The Da Vinci Code, but the story itself takes place before the events portrayed in the earlier film.

The film, starring Tom Hanks, is set to open worldwide on May 15.

Father Marco Fibbi, a Vatican spokesman, said: “Usually we read the script, but in this case it wasn’t necessary.”

“Just the name Dan Brown was enough,” Fr Fibbi added.

The Catholic Church was infuriated by The Da Vinci Code, which suggested that Jesus may have been secretly married to Mary Magdalene.