The Da Vinci Code pulled from Chinese theaters

Something's definitely afoot in the smoky backrooms of Zhongnanhai and the smoke-free and spooky chambers of the Vatican: China is pulling The Da Vinci Code off screens nationwide. So far, there is no official reason, just conjectures. The Scotsman said that it had something to do with Beijing's relations to the Vatican:

Relations between Beijing and the Vatican -- who do not have diplomatic ties -- reached a new low last month when the Pope censured China publicly for installing two bishops in the state-backed Catholic church without the Holy See's approval.

The LA Times had another insight:

"I guess maybe the government did this out of the consideration of some religious groups," said Yu Guoming, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University of China. "The government wants to show respect to their will and doesn't want to cause trouble because of one movie. The Chinese government has always been very cautious on ethnic and religious issues."

Not as cautious as the US was with Zarqawi in Iraq, but they're getting there. Anyhow, there are Catholic groups in China that have shown their displeasure with the movie, which instantly made Shanghaiist suspicious, especially since they are not affiliated with the Vatican. Could there be, in fact, more flesh and blood descendants of Jesus out there than Dan Brown let on? Could the girl with the leather Heineken dress that you swear just gave you a come-hither look after taking your order, in fact, be the Holy Grail?

Picture from markdroberts.com.