MUST READ: For a science and religion story, this story has staying power. Nick Squires hit an out-of-the-park home run six days before Christmas. Today, he is re-writing the same story in the same newspaper, The Telegraph, and citing new sources. In the meantime many other news sites reported the same story with different wording but very little variation. Several hundred blogs reported the story. I have had more posts on this story then on any other shroud story I can remember. Here we go:
Dateline: Nick Squires, Rome, December 29, 2011:
Headline: Vatican’s official newspaper says science cannot explain Turin Shroud
Lede: The Vatican’s official newspaper has given strong endorsement to research by Italian scientists which suggests that the Turin Shroud cannot be a medieval fake and may be the authentic burial cloth of Christ.
Bits:
"For science, the shroud continues to be an ‘impossible object’ – impossible to falsify," L’Osservatore Romano said in a lengthy article on Thursday.
After conducting five years of advanced laser experiments, a team of experts from Enea, the National Agency for New Technologies and Energy, concluded that the imprint of a bearded man’s face and crucified body could not be reproduced by modern scientific techniques.
. . .
The researchers presented their results with "extreme caution" and had stopped short of putting forward theories that "strayed from science", the Vatican daily said.
But the implication of their work was that the enigmatic marks on the cloth were created at the moment of Christ’s Resurrection by some sort of miracle.
. . .
Monsignor Giuseppe Ghiberti, the president of the Turin commission responsible for the relic, told the newspaper: "Revelations about the shroud easily assume a sensational tone, but in this case the measured way the scientists speak of their research is to be appreciated. It’s a rare thing that gives the news added seriousness".
He said the Catholic Church would welcome more tests being conducted on the holy relic.
"New technologies will enable non-invasive experiments to be conducted on the fabric. But it will be important to respect scientific rigour and procedures, in order to avoid sensationalism and to respect the great religious meaning that the shroud has for Christians."
. . .
I must admit, I am not ready to easily accept, “But the implication of their work was that the enigmatic marks on the cloth were created at the moment of Christ’s Resurrection by some sort of miracle.”
Full story: Vatican’s official newspaper says science cannot explain Turin Shroud – Telegraph
Quote from Dan : “I must admit, I am not ready to easily accept, “But the implication of their work was that the enigmatic marks on the cloth were created at the moment of Christ’s Resurrection by some sort of miracle.”
I’m glad you don’t because that would be very imprudent. To do this kind of stretch, I say it again, someone MUST used EXTRAPOLATION.
Does anyone get the “feeling”, the Vatican is trying to tell us something without actually coming out and saying it? ;-)
I don’t find the article very well written actually. It still implies the findings in this experiment can disprove a medieval forgery or that present science cannot reproduce the Shroud and in so saying proves the previous statement.
This latest experiment proves only 2 things: That a linen cloth can be ‘imprinted’, ‘superficially’ in close relation to the images seen on the Shroud, using UV light. Also that to create a full image, as seen on the Shroud, we cannot create the ‘enviroment’ to do so with our present technology!…Simple, entising, not to be taken lightly, YES, but still proves little. Although it may have some striking ‘implications’, in actually it does not say much as there may be other methods in which the image was created. This study does not show in ‘anyway’ these other methods can be counted out.
I think the Vatican, or whomever is responsible for this relic, have a huge responsibility here. It is up to them whether ‘proper’ further research can be done on the Shroud! I say to them, Let’s get going! Put together a ‘Team’ of our best scientists, bring together the Shroud and Sudarium, ‘make a plan’ on how this testing should be implemented with open and unbiased exposure. Use all means possible, aslong as the relic is not damaged, to answer the many questions out there aready.
They could start by commissioning someone to produce some linen material, in the ancient fashion as closely as we know how.
R
Very fine comment Ron ! I agree mostly with all you said. There’s just the second thing you consider a “proof”. Since we don’t know the exact image formation mechanism, how can we be so sure we cannot create the proper environment to do so with our present technology ? I think we must be prudent here. MAYBE it was a natural process that formed the images and we could produce it right now but MAYBE we didn’t do it yet just because we didn’t find out the proper chemical recipe it must take to do it ? I think you can agree with me about this possibility… Of course, it is just a possibility and not a certainty. But, if we want to stay honest, we have to left the door open for this possibility.
Sorry Yannick, my mistake, in my second comment I meant it as in; creating the full image using UV light, the enviroment cannot be created with our present technology. In them saying they would need a gazillion watt multi-laser.
R
Ok Ron. I see my comment was on the target !!! ;-) I understand what you say and I remember that M. Di Lazzaro state something like that in 2008 at the Columbus conference on the Shroud… I think we’re VERY far from the day he and his team will be able to produce a body image with real 3D properties like we found on the Shroud !
And until that day could come, the link between their experiments and the Shroud of Turin will ALWAYS need some extrapolations to be made…