The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [86]
“Where is Father Bartholomew now?”
“I believe he was taken by the ambulance to Beth Israel Hospital in lower Manhattan,” Ferrar answered. “The man who came to Father Bartholomew’s aid late in the video is his physician, Dr. Stephen Castle.”
“Stephen Castle, the psychiatrist?” Dunaway asked.
“Yes. The other priest who rushed to the altar was Father Marco Morelli, a Jesuit the pope sent from Rome to work with Father Bartholomew.”
“So, you’re saying the Vatican is involved with Father Bartholomew’s case?”
“Yes,” Ferrar said. “I’m told Pope John-Paul Peter I has taken a personal interest in Father Bartholomew and I believe I can confirm that Dr. Castle has been hired by the Vatican to take Father Bartholomew on as a patient.”
“The Vatican must think Father Bartholomew is crazy. Why else would a psychiatrist be hired to treat him?”
“I don’t know if the Vatican thinks Father Bartholomew is crazy, or if the Vatican is just being careful,” Ferrar said. “Based on reports I filed over the past few days, Archbishop Duncan is also very deeply involved in this case. The Catholic Church is taking the case of Father Bartholomew very seriously.”
“I can see that,” Dunaway said, appearing suddenly distracted. “I’m being told by the control room that we also have a news clip of a press conference Archbishop Duncan and Dr. Castle held last week. I think we are going to play a clip from that now.”
That evening the network televised an hourlong special report, The Miracle at the Cathedral, hosted by Fernando Ferrar.
Nielsen reports the next day showed the broadcast was one of the most-watched Sunday evening news shows ever, with over ten million people tuning in.
Geraldo Rivera, move over! Ferrar thought as he left headquarters that evening around midnight. He was confident his career was made now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Monday morning
Dr. Stephen Castle’s office, New York City
Day 19
When he entered the conference room, Dr. Castle found the group had assembled. Archbishop Duncan was not there, but Father Morelli and Father Middagh were, as well as Anne. She still looked tense, obviously concerned about her brother.
After Ferrar’s TV reports, Father Bartholomew’s story was the buzz on the Internet. Videos taken from TV coverage of the levitation in the cathedral had received more than fifteen million views online in less than twenty-four hours.
“Father Bartholomew is resting comfortably at Beth Israel Hospital,” Castle told the group as he began the meeting. “If the experience with Father Bartholomew’s previous wounds is any guide, I expect his wounds will heal quickly and that Father Bartholomew will recover rapidly, much more so than would normally be the case with such severe wounds.”
Anne was relieved to hear this, but still, she was not convinced. “Can Father Morelli and I return with you to the hospital this afternoon to see my brother?”
“I’m not sure,” Castle said. “At the end of this meeting, I expect to get a report on his condition and I’ll make a decision then.”
“Okay,” Anne said compliantly.
Castle shifted gears unexpectedly. “At this meeting, I’m interested in learning more about the wounds we see on the man in the Shroud of Turin. As you all know, the world press is widely reporting that Father Bartholomew is now suffering the same wounds Jesus Christ suffered in his crucifixion, now including the crown of thorns and the stigmata in his feet. Pictures of the Shroud of Turin and Father Bartholomew are being juxtaposed on the Internet, on television, and in the print media internationally. Father Morelli explained to us last time that the Shroud of Turin provides a remarkably detailed view of the crucifixion of Jesus as described in the gospels of the New Testament, as well as the practice itself as described in contemporary Roman accounts. What I want to know in this meeting is this: Is there any basis on which we can discredit the comparisons the international news media are making