The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [30]
“No, I was an only child.”
“Your file says you saw your mother with God, in the experience you had after your accident. Is that correct?”
Bartholomew noted carefully how Castle framed the question. “You are being very careful to avoid asking about my experience of dying after my car accident in any way that would give credence to it. But I did see her in the afterlife,” the priest insisted. “The car accident happened a few hours after I visited her grave in Morristown. I’m sure that part of the story is in my file, too. But I doubt you are ready to accept anything I could tell you about what happened to me on the operating table as if it were real.”
“Pretty much, you’re right,” Castle said. “A lot of study has been done on near-death experiences. You describe feeling yourself drawn into a tunnel and experiencing a white light—that’s a lot of what we know about how the brain dies. As far as I’m concerned, what you went through might be explained physiologically, without any reference to God whatsoever. Unfortunately, when it comes to proving something about the afterlife, we don’t have a lot of people to interview who are still dead.”
“How about me having a mental illness?” Bartholomew asked. “Have you come to any conclusions there?”
“That’s it for today,” he announced, looking at his watch. “The hour is up and it’s time for you to return to the hospital.”
“That’s all?” Bartholomew asked, surprised. “We were only getting started.”
“We will take it up again next week,” Castle said firmly, closing Bartholomew’s file and standing up. “We’re done for now.”
As Castle got up and ushered Morelli back into the room, he had some instructions.
“Father Bartholomew, I will be sending over papers to your hospital room later today so Father Morelli can have you transferred to Beth Israel Hospital. I am on staff there and I need to become your physician.”
“How much longer will I be in the hospital?”
“That depends. First, I want to run a series of tests on you. Then we will decide. I want to examine your wrist wounds with a CT scan and an MRI. Then I need to see if we can do anything to control your hair growth.”
“I want to get back to my parish as soon as possible.”
“I understand that,” Castle said. “But you are my patient now and your health is my primary concern, both physically and mentally. I won’t keep you in the hospital any longer than necessary, but I’m your doctor now and you are going to have to follow my instructions.”
“Whether I like them or not?” Bartholomew asked.
“Yes,” Castle answered firmly. “Whether you like them or not.”
CHAPTER SIX
Same day
Dr. Stephen Castle’s office, New York City
1:00 P.M. ET in New York City, 7:00 P.M. in Rome
That afternoon, Castle telephoned Marco Gabrielli in Italy. Gabrielli was a professor of chemistry at the University of Bologna who had developed an international reputation for debunking various paranormal “miracles” that various frauds and con men had perpetrated over decades on a gullible religious public eager and willing to have concrete physical demonstrations that their beliefs in God were justified. Castle managed to meet Gabrielli on his first trip to Italy years ago, at a conference held in Rome by CISAP, an organization whose name roughly translates as the Italian Committee for Scientific Examination of Paranormal Phenomena. Castle was drawn to the CISAP meeting because the group applied the scientific method to a wide range of phenomena presumed to be explainable as paranormal, including ghosts, magic, astrology, psychic and spiritual healing, and UFOs. Gabrielli was one of CISAP’s most famous members. In their brief conversation at the meeting, Gabrielli let Castle know that he could help the psychiatrist with patients who claimed or exhibited supposedly paranormal phenomena related to religion.
Castle had worked with Gabrielli several times before. One patient, in particular, believed that the Jesus in the crucifix on his wall was crying blood. Gabrielli proved the patient had concocted an elaborate fake in which the Jesus on the crucifix turned out