The man whose photos documented the only modern scientific study of the Shroud of Turin, in 1978, would like to see a similar team of experts get to examine the linen cloth with today’s technology.
“I think it may provide answers to some questions,” Barrie M. Schwortz said during a visit Thursday to Fort Wayne. He wasn’t sure, however, that today’s technology could prove conclusively what many believe — the Shroud is the burial cloth that covered the body of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion and death.
But Schwortz said he would rather see the Vatican, which owns the cloth, do nothing than to have the Catholic Church rush into allowing scientists to examine the Shroud.
and this important piece . . .
For 18 years after the 1978 study, Schwortz remained a skeptic about whether the Shroud truly was the burial cloth of Jesus, he said. He then became a believer, saying he finally realized why God wanted him on the scientific team — to provide documentation for the millions of Christians around the world who would never have such access to the cloth.
“I wasn’t there for me,” he said. “I was there for them.
“It has given my life a purpose I never thought I would have,” added Schwortz, who now gives frequent presentations on the Shroud. “Isn’t it funny how God always picks a Jew as the messenger? I’m just another messenger.”
Schwortz, who remains Jewish and lives in Florissant, Colo., also has taken his message to the Internet, launching the website www.shroud.com in January 1996.
Read the entire article, Shroud of Turin expert visits Fort Wayne. (Hat tip to Joe Marino for the link)