BANGKOK (UCAN) -- Thailand's film censorship board May 17 approved the full version of The Da Vinci Code a day after it first directed the distributor to cut the last 10 minutes of the film.

The board's initial ruling followed protests from the Coordinating Committee of Protestant Churches in Thailand (CCPCT), which petitioned the minister of culture as well as the Royal Thai Police to ban the film.

The board viewed the movie a second time following an appeal by the film distributor before making its final decision. However, the movie will start with a message cautioning audiences that what they are about to see is a work of fiction, as the board also stipulated in its first ruling.

The film premiered May 18 in the country.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand (CBCT) and the CCPCT in a joint press conference May 15 in Bangkok said the film deliberately insulted Jesus Christ and held the founder of Christianity in disdain, besides sacrilegiously distorting the Gospels.

The film is based on Dan Brown's best-selling novel of the same name, whose plot centers on the fictional contention that the Catholic Church has been concealing evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had children.

Father Anthony Vorayuth Kitbamrung, director of the Thai bishops' Catholic Social Communications of Thailand, told UCA News May 18 that the movie has provided a "good opportunity for Christians to learn the truth of Christianity." He explained that the controversy over the film has driven many Christians to find out the truth, in which process they have gained "deep knowledge of the substance of Christianity."

Moreover, the Catholic priest added that Christians in Thailand live "in an open society" with people of different persuasions. "We must not expect others to follow us or be like us," he said.

At the press conference before the film board's final decision, Thongchai Pradubchananurat, chairman of the Baptist Union in Thailand and a CCPCT member, reiterated that the film distorted Christian faith and doctrine.

He pointed out that Christians, although they make up only a tiny fraction of the population, have their sentiments hurt by the film.

If there had been a film in Thailand claiming that Lord Buddha did not achieve nirvana, he asked the gathering, how would Buddhists feel? Close to 95 percent of Thais are Buddhists, and Buddhism is the national religion. Christians form less than 1 percent of the population.

Thongchai pointed out that "Christians have a clear idea that the movie is entertainment," but are not sure that others may understand it the same way.

At the press conference, Father Vorayuth said Catholics have followed up on the book and movie and held seminars to get the truth out. "Regarding its content, Catholics believe that the movie is not right according to the Bible and is misleading about our faith," he said.

Sunita Janyathanakorn, a Protestant, told UCA News the film "is not fair for those who believe in Christianity."

Anchalee Jongkadeekit, another Protestant, maintained that this sort of denigration is not new, because many people over the centuries have tried to distort the Bible and disparage Jesus.

"This movie and book does not shock us, but we must be responsible as Christians to God, whom we love, by giving right knowledge and helping other people not to believe in that absurd novel," Anchalee told UCA News.

The CCPCT has a "Handbook for watching and reading The Da Vinci Code" in Thai, which it planned to distribute to those watching the film.

Thai government statistics for 2005 put the number of Christians in the country at 486,800 in a population of 63.87 million. According to the Catholic Church, there are 313,162 Catholics in the country.

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(Accompanying photos available at here)