Hey it's FAKE... and also IDOLS are forbidden.. huh

TURIN, Italy (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday prayed before the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, which he described as an "icon written with blood".

The shroud "speaks with blood, and blood is life," the 83-year-old pope said in a "meditation" on the cloth displayed in Turin's St John the Baptist Cathedral for the first time in a decade.

The mysterious cloth, which bears a faint image that many believe to be of Jesus, "is an icon written with blood, the blood of a man who was whipped, crucified and wounded in the right rib," the pope said after spending about four minutes kneeling in silent prayer before the shroud.

"Every trace of blood speaks of love and life," the pontiff added in the meditation delivered to clergy involved in organising the display.

Continues: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/vaticanpope ... urinshroud

Pope prays before Shroud of Turin, 'icon written in blood' Pope performs yet another pointless exercise while poor people die of AIDS because they can't use condoms.

Fixed.

The cash must be getting tight, you can tell, they are reeling out the old icons. Roll up, roll up! Come see jebus's death rag! Only £2.00 entry! Freshly blessed by the poop no less!

This would be the same icon that predecessors of his back when it was "found" confirmed was a 14-century fake.

Smooth move, Ex-Lax.

DoctorE wrote:Hey it's FAKE... and also IDOLS are forbidden.. huh

Forbidden? When every RC church has at least one?

So much for the claims of apologists that the Church doesn't deny science ...

At least there's only one shroud. There are something like seventeen different churches claiming to have Jesus' foreskin; not just pieces, the whole thing.

PopeRatz was smart enough to refer to the Shroud of Turin as an Icon and not a Relic.

Federico wrote:PopeRatz was smart enough to refer to the Shroud of Turin as an Icon and not a Relic.

Good spot!

"Hey, faithful, rejoice! Behold the icon. Doesn't matter if it's true, so long as it's true to you." *

Bishop of Rome in "Benedict goes post modernist" shocker. Must remember this incident the next time he goes off on one about the evils of relativism.

* Disclaimer. This is caricature. Although it may still be infallible.

I don't think the Catholic Church has ever said that the Shroud is authentic. Presumably it is considered to be an image, which has devotional value.

nunnington wrote:I don't think the Catholic Church has ever said that the Shroud is authentic. Presumably it is considered to be an image, which has devotional value.

Yup.

nunnington wrote:I don't think the Catholic Church has ever said that the Shroud is authentic. Presumably it is considered to be an image, which has devotional value.

Which is even worse as they're just admitting they're worshipping a dirty towel.

I hope no one pays devotion to that!

Even as an icon, Turin is pony. An icon is supposed to be a lens, focusing your worship, and clarifying the object of your worship.



If the Shroud of Turin were a lens, I'd take it back to the opticians for regrinding.

Vatican's tactic is always very shrewd: When confronted with a request coming from the "vulgus pecus"to either sanctify a person, or recognize a miracle, or agree that a rusty nail comes from the true cross, it starts by poo-pooing the whole thing. However, a little later, it makes the charade of capitulating to popular request and goes ahead with the process of beatification or of recognizing the event as a true miracle or the rusty nail as having indeed nailed JC to the cross.
Since the ultimate purpose of the charade is to create a new source of revenue for the Vatican, I don't think any popular request has ever been refused.
Thus, a scoundrel such as Padre Pio is quickly sanctified, a Pharaonic Sanctuary is built in Porto Rotondo, and billions of euros start flowing into the Racc coffers. IMO, sooner rather than later, going against all scientific evidence, the Shroud will be given the stamp of authenticity and "voila"another source of cash to pay for compensation to children sexually assaulted by pedophile priests.
Amen.