KRS Film Distributors is forging ahead to bring The Da Vinci Code for release in all cinemas next month, as a petition makes the rounds to pile pressure on the authorities to ban the film.

Well over 500 people have signed the petition according to Vince Marshall, who is spearheading the campaign, and a protest/pilgrimage with Our Lady of Fatima is being planned for May 20, the day after the film's worldwide release.

The controversy that has dogged the book since its release promises to be repeated with the film, which was partially filmed in Malta last summer and stars award-winning actor Tom Hanks.

KRS is however unfazed by this reaction, failing to see what the fuss is all about when nobody had come forward to protest against the release of Dan Brown's book, which topped Malta's best-selling lists for months.

KRS general manager Charles Pace said ideally he was hoping the film could be released in Malta concurrently with the rest of the world on May 19, but it all depended on when the company could lay its hands on the prints.

However, the film still has to get the green light from the Film and Stage Classifiers Board.

"We have no fear that it will be banned. We have a good classifier board and I'm sure they will see it in the proper context," he told The Times.

The last time a film was banned from hitting the big screen in Malta was The Last Temptation Of Christ, back in 1989.

When asked if the film would be stalled, a board spokesman said, when contacted, they will comment after they had watched the film, "a procedure we adopt for any film".

Meanwhile, controversy is raging abroad and Opus Dei, a prelature of the Roman Catholic Church, has urged Sony Pictures to include a disclaimer at the beginning of the film, indicating that it is a work of fiction, as it is worried cinemagoers will accept Dan Brown's view of the life of Jesus, the Church and Opus Dei as truth.

Dan Brown's bestseller - over 40 million copies were sold worldwide in 44 languages - portrays Opus Dei as an ecclesiastical mafia and suggests Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child.

A Vatican official, preaching in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI just over a week ago, railed against The Da Vinci Code, branding the book and its upcoming film version as just more examples of Jesus being sold out by a wave of what he called "pseudo-historic" art.

The Church in Malta has so far stopped short of taking an official stand on whether it felt the film should be released or not, according to a Curia spokesman. However, the Church in the US is urging the public with the message "you've read the book, now don't see the movie". A religious group in Korea, The Christian Council, has applied for a provisional injunction to stop the release of the film, which it feels insults and defames the holiness of Jesus Christ and the Bible.

These sentiments are spurring Mr Marshall to raise a petition and hold the protest/pilgrimage.

"I started the petition two months ago and it's now gaining momentum. Next week we will hold the first meeting of our committee and then start sending letters to parish priests and cinemas to support our campaign," he said.

So far, all the cinemas on the island are showing the trailer of the thriller and posters have already been put up advertising its release next month.

"All the cinemas will be accepting the film once it comes to Malta; nobody has told us they don't plan to screen it," Mr Pace said.

Irrespective of this, Mr Marshall is soldiering on to collect as many signatures as possible before submitting the petition to the Prime Minister.

"This is a disgusting film and as Catholics we cannot remain passive in the light of such insults against our religion," he said, admitting that he only read parts of the book, skipping the bits that disgusted him.

So why had he not come out to speak against The Da Vinci Code when the novel hit our shores?

"If someone hits you the first time, you forgive, but the second time round you rise up and protest. Now that a film has been made we have to voice our dissent," he said.

Mr Marshall also questioned why Sony Pictures had so far refused to run a disclaimer at the beginning of the film indicating it was fiction.

But is it not normally the case that films usually run a commentary at the end of the film when it's based on a true story, rather than the other way round?

"True, but why is Sony insisting on hurting our sentiments? What's the problem of highlighting the fact that it is fiction? My answer to that is that if I made a film on your parents putting their repute into question and showing it around the world, you would be the first to take me to court," he replied.

"We are too passive towards our religion. Look at what happened when the cartoons of Mohammed were released. I'm not condoning their behaviour, but we have to defend our religion," he insisted.

Mr Marshall has already set up a website to bolster his campaign and his homepage proclaims: "Judas sold Christ for 30 coins. We sold Christ for 30 million copies".

As he organises the protest/pilgrimage, Mr Marshall insists no violence will be tolerated and that "if people get out of hand, they would be invited to leave immediately. Heated discussions with people who agree with blasphemy are useless and should be avoided.

"Our only weapon will be the rosary," Mr Marshall insisted.

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