Opus Dei

At an 11:30 press conference [4:30 a.m. EST], the Holy See Press Office Director Joaquín Navarro-Valls held a briefing for journalists.

The Holy Father addressed the following words to those attending the UNIV conference in Rome.

Closely united to the Holy Father, some 4,000 college students attending the university congress UNIV 2005 heard a message from the Pope read to them by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Sub-secretary of State, in the Vatican's Paul VI audience hall.

In the largest private audience ever given by a Pope to Jewish leaders, John Paul II received 160 Jewish rabbis and cantors from Israel, the United States and Europe.

On December 29, 2004, the Archdiocese of Denver announced that Pope John Paul II has appointed Bishop Jose Gomez as Archbishop of San Antonio.

"The Da Vinci Code" falsely describes Opus Dei as a "Catholic sect," which makes no sense because Opus Dei has always been fully a part of the Catholic Church.

As part of the Catholic Church, Opus Dei adheres to all its teachings, including those on penance and sacrifice.

"The Da Vinci Code" falsely depicts Opus Dei as having unenlightened views on women and their role in Church and society. The reality is quite otherwise.

"The Da Vinci Code" falsely portrays Opus Dei as being focused on wealth and power. The reality is that Opus Dei is focused on helping people grow in their faith and integrate it with their ordinary activities, not on gaining power to implement some political agenda. Similarly Opus Dei and its members have great concern for the poor, which is an important element of the Christian faith.

First, there was "The Da Vinci Code." Now there's "De-coding Da Vinci." The latter, by writer Amy Welborn, aims to debunk the errors that permeate the best-selling novel by Dan Brown.