The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [109]
“Dr. Castle, do you think Father Bartholomew can be cured?” the pope asked.
“I don’t know, Your Holiness,” Castle answered. “As I told you and Archbishop Duncan when I agreed to take this case, Father Bartholomew’s case might take years of psychoanalysis and even then I can’t promise results.”
“Do you agree, Dr. Moretti?” the pope asked, wanting to make sure both psychiatrists had a chance to express their professional opinions clearly.
“Yes, Your Holiness, I do.”
The pope sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. “It would be easy for me to dismiss Father Bartholomew, except that now there are millions of Catholics out there who believe in Father Bartholomew. What’s more, with Father Bartholomew manifesting the man we see in the Shroud, millions are now convinced that the Shroud too is authentic. I cannot just dismiss Father Bartholomew without being accused of engaging in a cover-up. People today do not believe official commissions, whether they are about the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas or whether Adolf Hitler died at the end of World War II instead of escaping to Argentina. Now we have Professor Gabrielli trying to prove the Shroud was a medieval forgery. Up until now, Gabrielli has been a minor celebrity, known primarily in this country, where he has been trying for years to prove that Padre Pio, whom we canonized, is as fake as a statue of Jesus that cries blood. But instead of that, Father Bartholomew has managed to give Gabrielli an international stage. What do you gentlemen suggest I do?”
The three physicians sat silently, thinking.
“Does the Vatican have to do anything?” Dr. Moretti asked.
“It’s a good question,” the pope said, “but after trying for the past few days to convince Professor Gabrielli that duplicating the Shroud will be no easy business, I think I’ve failed. Do you agree with this, Dr. Castle?”
“As I disclosed to you from the beginning, Your Holiness, you know I have been working in association with Professor Gabrielli,” Castle answered. “I’m sure you are all aware of the books I have written and that I profess no affinity for relics like the Shroud that tend to inspire belief in God even if the relics are false. So there is no need for me to hide my beliefs from this group.”
“Rest assured,” the pope said, “your book The God Illusion was translated into Italian and did quite well in the bookstores.”
“Thank you, Your Holiness,” Castle said. He knew the pope was right. “I can tell you for a fact that our meeting at CERN did nothing but convince Professor Gabrielli that he needs to refine his methods in his next try. I have no doubt that the next shroud that my friend Gabrielli fabricates will resemble the Shroud of Turin even more convincingly.”
“This is why I tried to tell Pope Paul VI that permitting scientists to examine the Shroud of Turin was a bad idea,” the pope said with obvious frustration. “I got nowhere with Pope Paul VI. He even had to go out and tell the world that the Shroud was a ‘wonderful document of Christ’s passion and death, written in blood,’ or something like that. For my part, I think the Shroud of Turin and Father Bartholomew are both sideshows to a genuine belief in God. Deep down I agree with Dr. Castle, at least in part. The last thing I want to do is to turn the Catholic Church back into a medieval relic factory.”
The pope leaned forward in his chair and began tapping the top of his desk rhythmically with the fingers of his right hand. Silently, he prayed for patience, and guidance from above.
After a moment or two, the pope picked up his phone and instructed that Fathers Morelli and Bartholomew be brought into the room.
Almost instantly,