Fr. Duncan writes:
. . . It is a fizzle because this is not about the Holy Shroud. It is about the financial tremors felt all the way from Detroit’s looming bankruptcy. It is about the desperate need for revitalization of Turin’s local and regional economy. It is about Fiat, SKF, Dayco, Bertone, Cinzano, Martini & Rossi, Stet-Telecom Italia. There have been worse reasons for exposing the the sacred for viewing. We should not forget it is about people’s financial well-being. It is problematic, however, because the Holy Shroud belongs not to Turin but the world.
Don’t upset the vendor’s cart with your science. Mystery sells better.
The following three messages are extracted from the “official” Santa Sindone (Holy Shroud) website. I relied on Bing Translation.
Getting these political ducks in a row is important. We all know that. Now let’s see what happens. There appears to have been no outbound news feeds. This was all about deals and constituencies and politics.
Turin and Turin welcome with joy the announcement of a new exposition of the Holy Shroud.
The city that for almost 500 years with dedication and pride has a point so important to the central mystery of the Christian faith becomes the center of spirituality through a public display of the Holy cloth, who render extraordinary and intense year of the 200th anniversary of one of its most loved Saints Don Bosco has always been an important reference for the faithful and especially for young people.
In 2010-the year of the last exhibition of the cloth which, according to tradition, has wrapped the body of Jesus after his deposition from the cross-over two million faithful had crossed the gates of the Cathedral and an even greater number of people, thanks to the internet and television, had seen the shroud exposed in the presbytery of the Cathedral by accepting an invitation to reflection and prayer, to meditate on the appeal not to forget those in difficulty, and to contemplate, in the picture, the pain of every man ".
A recall is not new to this town that has, in its history and woven into its fibers, the attention towards each other, the ability to accommodate and include, the sense of a p human conscious and etas, and where the brotherhood has always been made of concrete actions; for centuries this city intimately linked to the Holy Shroud, with its endless meaning and its ability to speak to humanity.
A reminder that the city of saints will honor with Social sobriet and deep, welcoming the silent appeal to "go out from themselves, from their beliefs," in the words of the Pope who ceaselessly remembers, more than ever during the worst crisis, don’t forget the other and his suffering.
The city of Torino will therefore, as in the past, part of this appointment very high and exciting, providing its architectural heritage, cultural and artistic, professional experience and the willingness to actively contribute to its organization, providing hospitality and welcome to those who come from every part of Italy, of Europe and of the world.
Piero Fassino
Mayor of Turin
The Monstrance in recent years have shown that millions of pilgrims have come to Turin for a simple trip and visit a revered relic, but for something a little more intense and deep, touching the soul and spirit of each. Each Exhibition an event that sees interweaving history, faith and popular devotion to a spiritual journey that presents us with a great mystery: the death and resurrection of Christ. In recent occasions when the sacred Linen was exposed to the public the city and the entire area you are prepared very seriously at the event, in a climate of great respect for the pilgrims, which went beyond cultural and religious differences. Logistical aspects and the reception of the pilgrims have always functioned properly, thanks to an organizing Committee that has seen local governments work synergistically and thousands of volunteers to become true ambassadors of the territory, its traditions and its spiritual richness and civil.
The next extraordinary coincider Exposition with the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco, that will see the Salesian family come from all over the world in the city where Santo sociale par excellence with the given example taught us that newspaper can and should be done to educate young people to enter responsibly in et. I’m sure Turin and Piedmont will give the right importance and create the right setting for two events so extraordinary, organizing welcoming initiatives and information at the height of the image and of the international eputazione of the city.
Antonio Saitta
President of the province of Torino
Message from the President of the Piedmont Region
Roberto Cota
President Of Piedmont Region