"I am indebted to Dan Brown"

Andrea Ermini

Andrea Ermini is 28 and works in Florence, in Italy. A year and a half ago he read the "Da Vinci Code" and was surprised by the picture it gives of Opus Dei. He made enquiries and... now has joined the institution. "Thanks to Dan Brown," he says, "I have rediscovered the beauty of the faith."

Andrea Ermini works in a company in Florence in human resources.
Having read the "Da Vinci Code" he was surprised at his harsh description of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church. "I found it suspicious and decided to make enquiries",he says.

How did you discover Opus Dei?
Andrea: It happened a year and a half ago. After reading the "Da Vinci Code", I was surprised that some critics should say Opus Dei was a "strange Catholic organisation", using brainwashing to recruit new members, secrecy and masochistic practices. That sounded rather odd and I decided to check up myself. It seemed absurd that the Church could approve of such an organisation.

So what do you think of the "Da Vinci Code"?
Andrea: To be honest if it hadn't been for Dan Brown, I wouldn't have rediscoverd the beauty of the faith and my vocation. Perhaps God would have found other ways to get to me, no doubt, but for me that it began with an enigma: a dark and sinister description of the Catholic Church. There's no question about it: I am greatly indebted to Dan Brown. And perhaps I'm not the only one...
http://www.opusdei.us/

No, you are not the only one Andrea :)