The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-05-19
PROS AND CONS ABOUT
HOLY STROUD OF TURIN

! until further notice. Appeal having beel
made to the pope, the exhibition, under
careful regulations. was allowed; but tht
Bishop of Troyes. In an exhaustive repor
to him, had presented evidence that this
shroud was spurious. Disregard by ths
canons of these regulations gave tbs
bishop the opportunity to forbid ceremo-
MES and ecclesiastical vestments at the
exposition and to require the priest whs
displayed it to announce in an intellig-
ible and loud voice, without ambiguity"
that 1t was not the real shroud of Christ,
but simply an imitation.
The objection that as this Clement was
an anti-pope his decisions had no valid
ity is without force, for 1.-The recognition
of relic is at best no subject of papaI
infallibility." 1t was simply a question OF
fact and the decision was according to
historical evidence which has never been
successfully disputed.
This Clement VII, we will explain in
cidentally. was Robert, Count of Geneva,
Bishop of Cambray. On the death of
Gregory xI in 1873 Urban VI (Bartol-
ommeo Pregnant. Archbishop of Barb,
Italians, although the majority of the
college of cardinals were Frenchmen:
but afterwards these French cardinals,
on the plea that they had acted under in
timidation, withdrew to Provence and
elected Robert of Geneva, known as
Clement VII Thus there were two rival
popes, one holding his court at Rome, and
the other at Geneva; but, as the Jesuit
writer contends, the question of fact de-
cided as to the shroud is not affected bv
the question of the validity of the cleo
tion of Clement Moreover. his leeiti-
macy as pope was recognized by Godfrey,
the bishop and the canons. and he was
regarded by all of them as the supreme
court of adjudication
NO further mention of the relic is made
until twenty years after, when In 141S. 1t
was among various objects intrusted by
the canons of Lirey to Humber, Count of
La Roche, and described as a cloth on
which is ia figure on representation du
suaire Nostre seigneur Jesucrist." In
l44s its exhibition at Chimay In Hainault
by his widow caused so great a sensa-
tion that by orders of the bishop of the
diocese a thorough examination or 1t was
made by two highly competent theolog-
ians, with the result that again it was
pronounced spurious. Next it came into
the possession of the Duke of Savoy
and thereafter, to use the language OF
the Jesuit critic, 1t stood as the hal
lowed relic and Palladium Of of the House
of Savoy
The church evidence against the au-
thenticity of the shroud Is indsputable
therefore; but DR.. Paul vignon has come
forward lately with a scientific theory
to sustain its genuineness.
We shall not undertake to go into an
explanation of the grounds on which the
Jesuit critic opposes this theory, but will
merely say that he presents great ar
ray of evidence to show that Dr. Paul
Vignon has failed utterly In his attempt
to demonstrate that the picture on the
alleged shroud of Christ was produced
by "a dlscoloration of the aloes super
induced by the decomposition OF the
deaths sweat generating ammonia
gases"
At any rate, the historical evidence
alone, as adduced by so firm a Catholic
Father Braun. would seem to be suffi-
Client to establish the fact of its spuri-
BUSINESS.