BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Catholic church issued a notice Friday to all its branches nationwide asking all followers to "firmly boycott" "The Da Vinci Code", accusing the Hollywood movie of going against and distorting the tenets and history of the Catholic church.

    "The contents of both the movie and the novel 'The Da Vinci Code' are totally fictional," said a notice jointly issued by the China Patriotic Catholic Association and the Bishops Conference of the Chinese Catholic Church.

    "Some contents of them have gone against and distorted the tenets and history of the Catholic church and caused grave confusion and misguidance to the massive believers and the readers from all social walks," it said.

    The movie, based on the best-selling Dan Brown novel by the same name, was made its debut on Wednesday in this Chinese capital.

    "Both the movie and novel have done enormous harm to the Christ faith," said the notice.

    "They have long been strongly criticized and condemned by all social walks and religious bodies and the Catholic church in China," said the notice.

    "We call for all the clergy and followers of the Chinese Catholic church to carefully read and ruminate over the Bible so as to realize what Jesus and the truth really are therefrom," it said.

    What the followers should do is, as Jesus says, "don't watch and listen to what's unreasonable", it said.

    "So let us boycott The Da Vinci Code firmly!" the notice said.

    "You should not watch, listen to and talk about the movie and consciously protect the sacred authority of the Bible and the faith treasures of the church," it said.

    It asked the believers to follow the teachings of the church and resist tempters and invasions with their own words and acts.

    "You should raise your vigilance, tell the truth from the false and spread the right tenets of the church to the followers and friends who are misguided," it said.

    According to the association and the conference, their provincial branches will be liable to convey the notice to all the dioceses, priests and followers under their administration.

    The notice also urged the believers to unswervingly follow Jesus and go ahead on the road of saving the people and glorifying the God.

    "The movie has many details that go against the Catholic teachings or are even insulting," said Liu Bainian, vice-president of the China Patriotic Catholic Association early in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

    The followers should conduct more prayers, through which they may cement beliefs, dispel tempters and get more faithful to the God's teachings, he said.

    The Jinde Weekly, sponsored by the China Patriotic Catholic Association's branch in north China's Hebei Province, also call the Catholics to boycott the movie in a letter published on its website.

    The danger of the movie is that it wears an overcoat of so-called "science" and cites confusing materials, which mix the truth with lies and blur the line between right and wrong, said Jinde's editor-in-chief Zhang Shijiang. Enditem