Shroud of Turin to Be Displayed

The Shroud of Turin will go on public display in its home city this summer and fall, and Roman Catholic Church officials once again are questioning tests that indicate the much venerated cloth is a medieval fake.

“The last word has not yet been said on this case,” Archbishop Severino Poletto of Turin, who serves as custodian of the shroud, told a recent Vatican news conference.

Poletto said that, on instructions of Pope John Paul II, the shroud will be displayed to the public from Aug. 13 to Oct. 22 as part of the church’s Jubilee Holy Year celebrations.

Many Catholics--and others--continue to believe the linen sheet bearing what appears to be the outline of the body and face of a bearded man was Jesus’ burial shroud. Carbon dating tests carried out in England, however, have indicated that three fragments cut from the border of the cloth dated only to the 13th century.

But Poletto and others argue that the tests were not conclusive and more work should be done.

“We know that science, and not faith, must have the last word on this mysterious image, and for this reason the research remains open,” Poletto said. “We do not exclude new examinations, in particular on some threads of the cloth on which the image is imprinted.”

To avoid long waits this time, officials invited pilgrims to make a reservation using a toll-free telephone number, 00390115118900 from the United States, or the Internet addresses https://www.giubileo.piemonte.it and https://www.sindone.org.