In spite of the fact that the so-called Shroud of Turin has been proven to be a Medieval forgery, Catholic cranks still run around desperately hoping that maybe it really, actually, truly carries the imprint of their savior.There's a lot of these folks around. John Iannone, an educated but foolish man, is on a mission to prove the validity of this shroud. He travels the country speaking to foolish Catholics on the topic, "The Mystery of the Holy Shroud: The Case for Authenticity." He once saw the shroud in Turin, Italy and thought it was "awesome." He convinced himself he "was looking at the same material Peter and John looked at 2,000 years ago."
Right!
Notice the photo at the top of the page. Does this "imprint" not resemble a Medieval monk of about 60 years rather than a 1st century Jew of 30?
The Roman Church does not consider the shroud a "relic." Evidently, the Vatican is not yet convinced Jesus actually lay down his head on the thing. Pope John Paul II said it was an "icon." Pope Benedict XVI is displaying it publicly for 40 days in 2010. Oh, to live so long!
Iannone, an educated but foolish man, says that God gave it to the Catholic Church "to make us think." Think about what? He doesn't say, but claims he just wants to "share" his views on the shroud and let people make up their own minds.
Oh, yeah. Iannone claims that the carbon dating on the shroud was flawed, because the material used came from a "woven-in repair" from the Medieval period and is different than the rest of the shroud.
Whatever.
Then we have the tale of the priest who "is the chief exorcist for the diocese of Rome." Father Gabriel Amorth, 82, claims to have conducted over 70,000 exorcisms. His core belief is that "Evil exists in politics, quite often in fact." (I think he may be right on that one!) "The devil," says Fr. Amorth, "loves to take over those who hold political office."
Hmmm. Does G. W. Bush come to mind?
Anyway, this gentlemen also believes the Hitler and Stalin were possessed by the Devil. How would he know that, you ask. Well, "Because they killed millions of people. The Gospel says, 'By their fruits you will know them.'"
Methinks Fr. Amorth may be losing it. Does the number of people killed determine possession by the Devil? What about all those Nazi SOB's who carried out Hitler's or Stalin's orders, those who did the actual killing? Do they get a pass? Was the Devil not interested in them?
And what about today? If someone kills six people, is he/she possessed by the Devil? Does the Devil go by numbers? Could a one-person murderer be possessed?
Fr. Amorth further states that, "Unfortunately, an exorcism on them [Hitler & Stalin] would not have been enough, since they were convinced of what they were doing. We can't say it was a possession in the strict sense of the word, but rather a total and voluntary acceptance of the suggestions of the Devil."
It's all so confusing. Were Hitler and Stalin possessed or not? What were they doing that they were convinced of? What's the difference between possession and "a total and voluntary acceptance of the suggestions of the Devil"?
Perhaps it would help if Father Amorth came out from behind the walls of the Vatican more often.
It seems to me that down through the years the Vatican could be charged with "a total and voluntary acceptance of the suggestions of the Devil." What say the good father to that? Actually, I think the ban on women in the priesthood is in fact the suggestion of the Devil. I think the ban on married priests is the suggestion of the Devil. And what about all those fine, upstanding clerics who have seen fit to molest little boys and girls down through the years? Do they fall through the cracks, somewhere, or did the Devil get to them, too.
Less serious, but what about a guy like this Iannone person who spends his life going around trying to convince people that a piece of cloth was imprinted with the features of a god-figure who himself was a mythological construction? Could that be the Devil's work also?
And when do we take responsibility for our own actions and stop blaming our misdeeds and evil on some legendary character derived from ancient fairy tales?
Would Father Amorth even understand what I'm talking about?
1 comment:
I would think the Devil is winning. We have genocide throughout Africa’ hatred all over the world, some of it based on a difference regarding which version pf god one believes in; an excess of greed, gluttony; hate; violence; etc. One would think the Devil is everywhere and making people do all sorts of things that go against the teachings of most religions. It seems that any evil must be the work of the Devil. Compare the acts of evil, violence, etc to those that do good all over the world, including natural disasters and their aftermaths, is that the work of God or the Devil? How do we know the difference when priests do evil? I do not know or care much about the shroud. If it was or wasn’t genuine makes little difference anyway.
If one want genetic information re Mary or Jesus, one must find a direct descendent of the Saltier family, mentioned in the Bible and the list of “begats” including Mary, Mother of Jesus.. There is a worldwide convention of that family held every year somewhere in the world. Their DNA would go back to Mary’s family and should be interesting. Members of that family embrace several religions in modern times, including Judaism, with a Sephardic flavor, along with both Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholicism. Of course that would entail science and many religious people decry science. That presents a problem I guess, if we want to explore such things.
Bob Poris
Post a Comment