The New York Post

May 10, 2009 Sunday

ANOTHER 'CODE' TO BREAK - THE GOSPEL TRUTH ABOUT 'ANGELS & DEMONS

BYLINE: REED TUCKER

SECTION: All Editions; Pg. 39

ON FRIDAY, "Angels & Demons" hits theaters, and like its predecessor "The Da Vinci Code," the film deals with ancient puzzles, shadowy societies and a conspiracy that could reach the highest levels of the church. Based on the novel by Dan Brown, "Angels & Demons" again stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor who's an expert in religious symbols, if not personal coiffure. Langdon is called on by the Vatican to help derail a violent plot against it by the Illuminati, a centuries-old, super-secret group of free thinkers who oppose the church and its teachings.

Like all of Dan Brown's books, "Angels & Demons" contains an intriguing mix of historical fact and just plain fi ction. Having read the book or seen the trailer, you've no doubt puzzled over how believable all this is. So on with the questions.

Do the Illuminati really exist?

No. Not any more.

How do we know you're not actually a member yourself and just saying that? If you know what's good for you, you'll move along to the next question.

Fair enough. So what happened to the Illuminati?

The group was founded in Bavaria in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt. He and other educated men of the time were inspired by the American Revolution and were out to foster reform in Germany, which at the time was ruled by autocratic royalty. The so-called Illuminati only had about 600 members, many of whom were arrested or forced to fl ee, says Margaret Jacob, a distinguished professor of history at UCLA. The group disbanded a few years later without accomplishing much.

Sounds like Van Halen when Gary Cherone was singing lead.

It was worse.

But isn't that Illuminati different from the one in "Angels & Demons?"

It is. In the book and movie, the Illuminati were Italian scientists and artists, including Galileo and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who were persecuted by the church for their progressive ideas. Brown says he got the idea for the story while taking a tour of Vatican City. The tour guide mentioned that the church's "most feared ancient enemy" - the Illuminati- had "vowed revenge against the Vatican for crimes against science."

Juicy. But is it true?

Brown and the film's director, Ron Howard, insist it is, but scholars disagree. Jacob says "there's no truth whatsoever" to the assertion that the Illuminati were active in 1600s Italy with Galileo or anyone else as a member. Even when the group did appear in the 1700s, Jacob says there's "very little evidence" that members were targeted by the church.

Were they at least waterboarded by Dick Cheney?

Those memos have yet to be declassified.

Man, the church must getting its vestments in a bunch over this movie. They're surprisingly OK with it. Officials refused to allow "Angels & Demons" to fi lm in certain Vatican locations, but the reaction from clergy has been more muted than for "The Da Vinci Code," which was labeled "slanderous." The Vatican newspaper recently called "Angels & Demons" "gripping ," with "splendid" camera work.

The church can't catch a break. Why does it make such a good villain?

They have the best costumes, for one. For another, conspiracy theories have swirled around it for years.

Name one.

There's currently a case making its way through America's federal court system that a prosecuting attorney says suggests "Angels & Demons" is more fact than fiction. "Not everything at the Vatican is as it seems," Jonathan Levy writes. Alperin v. Vatican Bank, as the lawsuit is known, alleges that millions of dollars were stolen from Croatian concentration camp victims during World War II, and the funds were laundered by the Vatican Bank.

Hmm. No comment.

It's hardly the first monetary scandal. In 1982, Roberto Calvi, nicknamed "God's banker" because of his close ties to the Vatican, was mysteriously found dead, hanging beneath London's Blackfriars Bridge with bricks and $15,000 stuffed into his pockets. Conspiracy theorists allege his death ties into a scandal that involves the mafia, the church and an Italian secret society like the Illuminati.

Someone should make a movie about that!

They did in 2002. But it's in Italian, so best of luck. Oh, and don't get us started on the conspiracy theories surrounding the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I. He was found dead just 33 days into his papacy. Some claim he was poisoned (no autopsy was performed) because he tried to weed out corruption in the Vatican's fi nances.

So how about this business with antimatter? In the film, a small quantity is stolen fr om a Swiss lab, and it threatens to destroy the entire Vatican. Is antimatter that dangerous?

More dangerous than Paula Abdul speaking on live television. Antimatter is regular matter with a reversed charge. So, for example, every proton has an antimatter counterpart called an antiproton. When antimatter and matter come into contact, it is true that energy is released.

In 1996, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva became the first lab in the world to artificially produce antimatter, but you needn't worry about it blowing up your apartment. The lab can only produce about one trillionth of a gram per year - not even enough to power a light bulb.

I feel better.

Good. No one's going to be killed by antimatter. By the Illuminati is another matter.