My Carlos, my Pavarotti, Vincent Paul Toccoli is at once a religious figure, a Salesian priest of Don Bosco, a contemporary missionary to tribes around the world, a teacher, a psychoanalyst, and a writer.
But Father Toccoli’s talents are even more numerous, as he is a multilingual, multidisciplinary individual fundamentally dedicated to the multiple tasks of saving mankind.
To learn more about him, we invite you to visit his website, A Nous Dieu Toccoli, or to read one of his 25 works.
Nice Premiรจre: Father Toccoli, what is your stance regarding the movie “The Da Vinci Code”?
Father Toccoli: I haven’t seen the movie. No one has yet. To say anything about it before having seen it would be fraudulent… About the movie, I can only say that I like the two male actors: Tom Hanks and Jean Reno; I like “Amรฉlie” less and I have high expectations of Ron Howard whose directing style I appreciate!
Of course, the movie is based on the book by Dan Brown, which I can also say, having read it in both English and French, that it is at once a good station-book, a suspenseful thriller, a bit lengthy for my taste (I forced myself to finish it, and the ending is frankly disappointing!), but also, and indeed, a vast fraud mixing, perhaps delightfully (?), historical facts with elements of “heroic fantasy,” inaccuracies, fabrications, and rumor-mongering, and especially, adeptly manipulating conspiracy theories: “They” are hiding things from us, whether it’s today’s Church and Opus Dei, or yesterday’s Jesuits and the Elders of Zion. And as people are bored (because they are tired) and disappointed (rightly so) by institutions that are out of breath, anything is good that designates a scapegoat. This time, the Roman Catholic Church is the scapegoat! Oh poor Jesus, Oh poor Mary Magdalene, Oh poor Leonardo (da Vinci, not DiCaprio!).
NP: You are presenting the movie tonight in Nice at the Rialto. Why this presentation?
PT: To wage the battle of intelligence against the powers of manipulation and lies. To inform, enlighten, correct, and reveal, as much as I can, the objective truth. A work of public and spiritual health.
NP: Bishop Amato has called for a boycott of the film. Don’t you think that gives it too much importance?
PT: Indeed, it gives too much importance to Bishop d’Amato, who is, by the way, a fellow Salesian of Don Bosco like myself.
But it does not give too much importance to a (pseudo-)cultural event that unfortunately monopolizes the entire planet. People crave images, just like pandas crave bamboo shoots: pandas need 20kg per day. Humans consume 20 images per second! These images will remain in the subconscious and will always emerge between reality and consciousness. It is essential to contribute to the cleansing of our fellow citizens’ mental soils.
Do not underestimate your enemy, as in martial arts: study its weak point and show it that it would be wrong to attack us. Dissuade them!
NP: If these offenses had been directed towards the Quran or the Holocaust, they would have caused a global uprising. Because they are directed towards the Catholic Church, they will remain unpunished. What punishment does Bishop Amato refer to, in your opinion?
PT: He is surely alluding to the destruction of property and people that followed the publication of those infamous cartoons, I suppose. But this vengeful verbal agitation is useless.
Evil exists; it is not enough to denounce or condemn it. We must be on the field of operations, and respond with appropriate initiatives and actions, not just words from a “rainmaker!” Everyone must act where they are! And educational information remains the best response… as long as one believes, of course, that the truth will eventually triumph!
NP: The Diocese of Nice will be present at the next Cannes Film Festival. Can you tell us more about this presence of the Church in the temple of cinema?
PT: First, it is not a temple: it is a market, an emporium, and a business hub of all sorts. If it is a temple, then Jesus went there too, and you know he cleaned it! And they begrudged him mortally for it!
NP: What are Father Toccoli’s upcoming projects?
PT: Loads! And in disorder: a spiritual coaching office and a Montessori school in Sophia, a parish on the net, a festival of contemporary Japanese arts, a baroque music hall on the Apocalypse of St. John, a research group on end-of-life care, a professional forum for sacerdotal and religious vocations… I am on my 25th book.
