The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [37]
Castle got the point. “I’ve challenged Gabrielli to replicate the Shroud with techniques and materials that would have been available to medieval artists. I plan to work closely with Gabrielli, and if he can replicate the Shroud, I intend to invite him to coauthor my next book with me.”
“Will that book focus on Father Bartholomew?” the pope asked.
“Most likely it will.”
“Then I take it you believe Father Bartholomew is psychologically disturbed.”
“Yes, I do.”
The pope appreciated Castle’s honesty. It was exactly what he expected. “I want to make sure you understand that I picked you because you are a formidable nonbeliever. Beginning in 1977, Anastasio Cardinal Ballestrero, the archbishop of Turin, gave permission to a group of scientists who organized themselves as STURP, the Shroud of Turin Research Project, to conduct tests on the Shroud over a five-day period. Pope Paul VI was not initially in favor of Ballestrero’s decision. Pope Paul VI did not think establishing the scientific authenticity of the Shroud as the burial cloth of Christ was a good idea, even if it could be proved the Shroud is authentic. He thought moving the Church in that direction would put us back in the relic business. Since the medieval period, the Church has been moving away from any idea that relics should be used to buttress faith.”
“I get the point.”
“I always believed Pope Paul VI had a valid point and I disagreed with the decision to open the Shroud to scientific investigation,” the pope continued. “But I am intellectually curious, especially since Pope Paul VI ultimately agreed to head down that route. So now I want to know if the Shroud can be proved to be a fake. I doubt anyone will ever prove for an absolute certainty that it is Christ’s burial cloth. After all, we don’t have any photographs of Christ to compare with the Shroud and we aren’t likely to get any.”
“So what do you want me to do?” Castle asked.
“I expect you to do your best to prove Bartholomew is deranged and I expect your Italian chemist friend will do his best to show he can make a Shroud as good as the original one. I will even pay you to do so.”
“What do you mean?” Castle asked.
“I’m having one million dollars transferred to your account in New York immediately,” the pope said without emotion. “I hope that will be enough to cover your time and the services of Dr. Gabrielli?”
“I am sure it is more than generous,” Castle answered, quite surprised at how much the pope was willing to spend on this project.
“If you need more than that, I will need a precise accounting on how the one million dollars were spent,” the pope clarified. “If one million turns out to be enough, I don’t care how you spend the money. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Castle said.
“Do you agree?”
“Yes,” Castle said again quickly. “The terms are most generous.”
“My only condition is that you work closely with Father Morelli on my staff,” the pope continued. “Father Morelli is devoted to the Shroud. Father Morelli came to the conclusion that the Shroud is the burial cloth of Christ, but he came to that conclusion only after studying the Shroud’s history and the evidence intensely, both pro and con.”
“No problem,” Castle affirmed. “I met with Father Morelli earlier today and I will be happy to work with him.”
“One more thing,” the pope said. “Father Morelli will introduce you to a Father Middagh in New York. Father Middagh has studied the Shroud for more than forty years and he is one of the Catholic Church’s leading experts on the Shroud. He too has a Ph.D. in chemistry, much like your friend in Bologna. Your conclusions on Bartholomew and Gabrielli’s conclusions on the Shroud will not be meaningful to me until you both survive Father Middagh’s examination.”
Again, Castle saw the point. The pope was willing to pay, but the job was not going to be easy.
“I’m sure you appreciate that your reputation will depend on your conclusions,” the pope said, almost as a veiled threat.
“What do you mean?” Castle wondered.
“The Catholic Church