Depressed monk's suicide linked to reading TDVC

The Telegraph reports:

A monk may have leapt to his death from a monastery after reading The Da Vinci Code, it emerged yesterday.

Abbot Alan Rees, 64, a revered figure in the Benedictine community, fell 30ft from a second-storey balcony at Belmont Abbey in Herefordshire last October.

The Swansea-born monk had suffered from depression for the past 12 years.

But at a recent inquest into his death, Fr Paul Stonham, the Abbey's replacement abbot, linked his last bout of depression to a novel. There is speculation that he was referring to The Da Vinci Code.

   Such news, of course, should be handled with extreme care and should not be recklessly used to "prove" how horrible TDVC is, especially since extreme depression is a complex matter. But one wonders: if reading the novel was indeed a factor in Abbot Rees lapsing back in depression, was it because he believed some of the claims made within the novel, or was it because he was upset over how the novel portrayed Catholicism (specifically, perhaps, the murderous Opus Dei "monk," Silas)? Or was it something else? We'll probably never know. May God have mercy on his soul. Requiem in pace.

Comments

[goodform]

Carl, I was reading an article of yours yesterday on how many people defend TDVC on the grounds that it's "just fiction". This sad story is further evidence that you and Sandra are not wasting your time trying to counter this book. You are both doing a valuable service to God and His Church. Thank you for this.
Tom

[Owen]

I was reading this story earlier via a news feed and thought exactly this; "Such news, of course, should be handled with extreme care and should not be recklessly used to "prove" how horrible TDVC is..."

We, who hope to defend truth, must exercise wisdom and caution in the anecdotal evidence we collect and believe.

[MLC]

I personally knew Abbott Alan from when I was a novice in a nearby monastery of Benedictine nuns and he used to come over to say mass and hear confessions. I knew he had died, but have only just learned of the circumstances and I'm obviously quite distressed. He was a gentle and holy man and a fine musician. I wonder if it is Providential that this case should become public at the same time as TDVC trial.