|TOP|A new DVD by the Catholic Church in Scotland is being sent out to hundreds of schools and parishes across the country to help young people make an educated decision about the claims on the Christian in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

The launch of “Debunking the Da Vinci Myths” comes just before the world premiere of the movie version of Brown’s multi-million selling conspiracy novel in Cannes on May 17th.

The DVD features one of the Scottish Catholic Church’s leading intellectuals, Professor Emeritus Patrick Reilly, who likened the inaccuracies of The Da Vinci Code to claiming that John Knox was a child abuser.

Professor Reilly also lambastes the novel and film for its “monumentally inexcusable nonsense” in the DVD that will go out to all 60 Catholic secondary schools and 500 parishes across Scotland, reports Scotland on Sunday.

|QUOTE|The book, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, makes a number of spurious claims on the Christian faith including the controversial allegation that the Holy Grail is really the bloodline descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene, which was then, according to the book, covered up by the Church.

Professor Reilly told the Scottish newspaper: “Brown's story is completely baseless historically: it's monumentally inexcusable nonsense. Dan Brown flouts the facts. A three-year-old's letter to Santa is better-written."

The Glasgow University Professor Emeritus of English Literature expressed his intent to use the release of the film version to set the Scottish people straight on the truth and the myths of the novel.

"We must correct the inaccuracy that the book suggests. The debate and controversy will grow even further upon the film's release. And while it may seem like picking a quarrel with Balamory or the Teletubbies, because of the book's pop culture appeal it's about setting the record straight.

|AD|"When dealing with a historical figure in a fictional context, writers have to be very careful. It's like someone producing a book or a film saying that John Knox was a child abuser."

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland also came out to debunk the claims of the novel: “Dan Brown's story is a flawed work of fiction. This DVD will go through the book's flaws and failings and explain things perhaps lost in the stoked-up publicity machine Sony Pictures have so far managed to generate."

In his Easter Sunday sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, defended the Christian faith against a number of recent challenges, making reference to both the recent release of the ‘Gospel of Judas’ and The Da Vinci Code.

He told listeners at Canterbury Cathedral that, “Conspiracy theories will not weaken the Gospel”.

The deeply devout Catholic sect, Opus Dei, in the UK has planned a number of talks and seminars to take place across the UK to coincide with the release of the film next month.

UK director of Opus Dei, Jack Valero, told Scotland on Sunday: "Our response is not to fight but to inform people. This is a teaching not a fighting moment in time. The real Jesus Christ is far more exciting than the pathetic little man that Brown depicts."

He added: "Having seen the trailer to the film it looks pretty horrible, especially the depiction of the Opus Dei monk. I hope the film as a whole is mature enough not to offend anyone. The movie makers are like King Kong and we [the Catholics] are like the young girl screaming: 'Don't squash me’."