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Karl Schembri
How does a former Satanist who believes the devil is behind The Da Vinci Code react to a Curia ban on a pilgrimage he planned against this evil masterpiece? He accuses the Curia of being possessed by the devil, of course.
That’s Vince Marshall for you, the man who claims to have collected some 4,000 signatures for his anti-Da Vinci Code petition over a week has now burned all those details of the fervent believers who were behind him in this reparation crusade in the face of that “blasphemous” book and film about to be released.
With all those signatures, he must have set a whole bonfire in his backyard, shortly after receiving that letter of disapproval from the Curia after ignoring him for three months.
This exorcised guy is clearly pissed off at the Curia for disapproving his protest march/pilgrimage that was to be held in Valletta on 20 May.
“After three months of restless work and sacrifices, forking out personal money, Satan used the Curia to dismantle all the work done”, he wrote on his bizarre website. “I can only heed the message of Our Lady of Fatima that Satan would enter into ‘My Son’s Church.’ I cannot say that Satan has not entered (the Maltese Curia)”.
It seems Satan was quite curt with Marshall, his former ally who used to worship a Satanic bishop’s skull who says is still suffering the persecutions of the devil. The Curia just sent all his restless work and sacrifices down the drain in two sentences written in a letter by Fr Charles Cordina, the Archbishop’s Pastoral Secretary: “While the Church regrets the harm that could result from The Da Vinci Code book and film, the Church authorities disapprove of any pilgrimages. Therefore, it does not even permit religious statues to be used in such pilgrimages”.
Marshall had all police permits in place but he still felt he had to bow to the Curia’s edict forbidding him bandying about the statue of the Madonna of Fatima, an otherwise inalienable right duly granted to him by the civil authorities.
Curiously however, a day before Fr Cordina gave him those Satanic verses, Marshall was already saying he was calling off his protest march in an email he sent to MaltaToday.
In bad English that is as hard to decipher as the Da Vinci code itself, Marshall accused MaltaToday of misquoting him when it was evident he had not understood the article in question.
“I am going to keep you responsible for all this lies issued on your News paper Dated 30th April and if all this want be put in the right way i leaves me no option But to Cancel the Rally to be held on the 20th and i keep you responsible for all this,” he wrote in his email.
He added: “I never said i dont condone the Muslims violence how can i say that when on my prog i said NO VIOLENCE?,” clearly confounding ‘condone’ with ‘condemn’ which have opposite meanings.
That was a day before Fr Cordina’s letter, which was really the last straw for Marshall. The bomb has exploded, he declared on his website, as two devils and three bombs (is there a hidden code there?) greet you ominously on screen.
“SATAN EXPLODED THE BOMB BEFORE THE 2OTH MAY,” he says. “HE IS WORKING HARD. BUT STILL BE ON ALERT KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN. SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN.”
What about buying some popcorn and watching the whole Zeffirelli repertoire, Mr Marshall?
“No way will the movie match the show these jokers are putting-on,” wrote the author of the website civilcommotion.com, Bob Felton, in his reference to Marshall in the entries dedicated to the Da Vinci Code lunacies worldwide.
So that’s the final chapter to this long drawn farce, some 4,000 signatures up in flames and, for once, a sensible decision by the Curia that has been trying so helplessly to free itself of this embarrassment.
Still, Marshall, who leads the prayer group Kristu Rebbieh which calls itself “the youngest Jesus Christ club”, may well come up with some new forms of exorcism as he sees Satan infiltrating the Church. As captions for the photos he posted on his website showing him “during the petition burning”, he wrote: “I am sure that our God Accepted them.”
And I’m pretty sure it’s case closed for Him.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
Links:
www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/04/30/t7.html
www.freewebs.com/protestdavinci/index.htm
www.civilcommotion.com
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