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Wednesday May 31, 2006



Sri Lanka Bans Da Vinci Code after Appeal by Catholic Bishops


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COLOMBO, May 31, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Sri Lanka has banned screenings of The Da Vinci Code in theatres and local television channels following an appeal by the country's Catholic Bishops Conference to the President.  President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the ban on the film on Wednesday the 24th May, according to a press release by the Sri Lankan pro-life group Cultura Vitae.

The news was welcomed by the country's 1.5 million Christians as it was deeply offensive. "The movie attacks the very roots of Christian faith and hurts the sentiments of all Christians," the Catholics Bishop Conference said in a letter to the Sri Lankan president. It called the movie as well as the book blasphemous.

However, the Asian Human Rights Commission responded with outrage to the ban. "The Executive President of Sri Lanka does not have any power under the Constitution or any law to engage in the banning of a film.  When he acts outside the law he acts as a dictator", said the organization in a press release.

"It matters greatly to us as it adversely affects the most sacred beliefs of our people when it levels the charge that the Catholic Church is essentially a vast network founded on maintaining the lie of Jesus' Divinity," said the Bishops' letter.

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