Church and Propaganda

Just recently finished reading Angels and Demons. I liked it more than Da Vinci Code. At the very least the author doesn't chicken out at the end as he did in DVC. Infact, I really wasn't going to write about this at all. But last week I read a news article in ToI which reported that a high Vatican official and a frontrunner to replace the current Pope railed against the author and the books and called upon catholics not to read them. This got my blood boiling. Anyone with even an iota of sense would not be surprised if it transpires in the future that these books were commissioned by the Vatican. After all the message in both the books is the same. They both equate God to the Vatican. The actions of the hero in both books have been aimed at maintaining the faith that Catholics have in the Vatican which he implicitly equates with God.
Infact as a propaganda instrument, I find the two books, truly amazing. The reverse psychology applied is mind-boggling. The author, in both books, sends the message that the Vatican is the true representative of God on earth and the maintainence of it's facade of moral authority is more important than the truth itself. Once again, as I pointed out in a previous post, the 'common man' is saved from 'disillusionment' and 'confusion' by hiding the truth from him. Once again he is considered to be too weak and ignorant to be able to handle the truth.
Well I don't want to repeat one of my previous posts here. But make no mistake, Dan Brown's books are so supportive of the Vatican, I wouldn't be surprised if they reward him secretly with a free entry into heaven.