NEW YORK, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- An ABC News special scheduled for U.S. telecast Monday explores the theory that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a child, the BBC reported.
ABC's Elizabeth Vargas said that the program, "Jesus, Mary and DaVinci," was made "as respectfully as we can."
"(But), you can't talk about this subject without intriguing people or offending people," she said.
The special is partly based on the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code," by Dan Brown that says Magdalene fled Jerusalem with Jesus' child after his crucifixion, the BBC said.
The story was supposed to have been kept alive by a secret society that included the medieval painter and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci, the BBC said.
Although the special does not provide any evidence that Jesus had a wife, Vargas said it could not completely discount the theory either. Some have been critical of the special.
"The majority of the people who spoke believed in either the plausibility or the outright truth of Dan Brown's claims," said Joseph Feo, a representative of the Catholic League.
"The facts themselves scream out that this is a crackpot theory."
