Religion: Debunking The Shroud of Turin

Tests prove it is not Christ's burial cloth, but questions remain

Since the Middle Ages multitudes have believed that a piece of linen enshrined in Turin, Italy, is the burial shroud that Jesus Christ left in the tomb when he rose from the grave. But last week Turin's Anastasio Cardinal Ballestrero calmly announced that scientific testing proves the yellowing 14- ft.-long fabric is only six or seven centuries old and could not have dated from the time of Jesus. Thus ended the most intense scientific study ever conducted on a Christian relic.

The new findings may please skeptics, but the shroud saga is not a major embarrassment for the Roman Catholic Church....

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