Ron Howard: 'Angels & Demons' Not Anti-Catholic2009-04-21

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard responds to criticism that his highly anticipated film 'Angels & Demons' unfairly portrays the Roman Catholic Church.

In an article for The Huffington Post, Howard writes that William Donohue of the Catholic League is on a mission "to paint me and the movie I directed, 'Angels & Demons,' as anti-Catholic." Howard says Donohue is selling a booklet, in which he asserts that the director and others involved in the movie "do not hide their animus against all things Catholic."

"Let me be clear: neither I nor 'Angels & Demons' are anti-Catholic. And let me be a little controversial: I believe Catholics, including most in the hierarchy of the Church, will enjoy the movie for what it is: an exciting mystery, set in the awe-inspiring beauty of Rome."

Howard goes on to say that religious criticism of the film is unwarranted because it is clearly a work of fiction. "Mr. Donohue's booklet accuses us of lying when our movie trailer says the Catholic Church ordered a brutal massacre to silence the Illuminati centuries ago. It would be a lie if we had ever suggested our movie is anything other than a work of fiction (if it were a documentary, our talk of massacres would have referenced the Inquisition or the Crusades)."

'Angels & Demons,' the the prequel to 'The Da Vinci Code,' stars Tom Hanks as world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who confronts the shadowy secret society, the Illuminati, to uncover a conspiracy that may put the Vatican -- and the world -- in explosive jeopardy. The movie hits theaters May 15.

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