Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta.
About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1987)
PAGE 6 — The Georgia Bulletin, February 12. 1987 Shroud Of Turin Exhibit Needs New Home (Continued from page 1) of a crucified man. This research provides evidence that the Shroud had been wrapped around a body, rather than being an artistic rendering. Pope John Paul II recently gave consent to a series of new tests involving Carbon 14 dating and neutron activation measurement. These new tests will attempt to date the origin of the Shroud. Until now, Carbon 14 measurement — which involves the burning of a part of the Shroud — was not considered suffi ciently reliable in dating an artifact. Earlier procedures for Carbon 14 testing also would have necessitated removal of a large portion of the cloth. New advances in technology have overcome these problems. The upcoming tests will be conducted this spring, with results to be delivered to the Archbishop of Turin by early 1988. The scientific objective is solely to date the Shroud, not to prove whether it actually belonged to Jesus. The prestigious British Museum will supervise the pro ject. The research will be conducted at seven laboratories: the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art at Oxford University; the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell. England; the Brookhaven Na tional Laboratory, New York; the Nuclear Structure Research Laboratory of the University of Rochester, New York; the Department of Physics, Arizona State Universi ty; the Institute of Physics, Zurich, Switzerland; and the Radio-Carbon Laboratory in Villeurbanne, France. Seventy tiny pieces of the Shroud will be tested. In addi tion, some participating laboratories will be issued similar but inauthentic pieces of linen in order to assure validity of the tests. Scientists estimate that a dating by this method could be as accurate as within 25 years of the date or as dis tant as 150 years of the date. Father Dreisbach initially approached the Shroud as a skeptic. "Most of us today pride ourselves on being ra tional empiricists'," he says. “‘Unless I see, I will not believe,' could be our motto." “But the more I studied the Shroud, the more I became convinced of its authenticity," says Father Dreisbach. The Atlanta International Center for Continuing Study and Exhibit of the Shroud of Turin Inc. began as a study group hosting a traveling exhibit on the Shroud in late 1982. Although the exhibit was scheduled to last only 30 days, it has never left. Housed first at Peachtree Center, then, since spring of 1983, at the Omni complex, the center is in search of a new home. “We're looking for approximately 8.000 to 10,000 square feet of space to display the exhibit and house the publica tions and offices of the center," explains Father Dreisbach. “The center’s role is to display for the public what previously only a privileged few were graced to have seen. We have drawn people from all over the world," he con tinues. “Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox, and last Christmas Eve, a number of Islamic students at a national convention here toured the exhibit." Father Dreisbach often wonders why he, an Episcopalian priest, was called to this work. “I wrestled with God for two years to see if I should for sake the parish in southwest Atlanta which I loved and had served in for 13 years," he recalls. "It took more faith to step out into this particular ministry than it did in the '60’s for me to march in Selma....It has taken more faith to do this work. “A local Catholic priest once said to me that perhaps I was called to this work because I am Anglican. He said that if I were a Roman priest, the general public could dismiss this work because, ‘Romans have to believe these things (miracles and the veneration of relics).’ But they wouldn’t think this of an Episcopalian.” Father Dreisbach sees three reasons for what he calls the “Apostolate of the Holy Shroud”: its value for Christian education, for evangelism and for ecumenism. The late British Anglican Bishop John A T. Robinson once expressed his belief that the Shroud gives modern men and women the opportunity to see what Peter and the disciples saw on Easter morning in the empty tomb. Father Dreisbach recalls Robinson saying, “(The Shroud) confers no special privilege but a special obligation to go beyond the empty tomb to the world for which Jesus gave his life." The Shroud is a visual evangelism, according to Father Dreisbach. “We can identify with this man whose image we see (on the Shroud). I can recall a little girl brought here to the exhibit on the day of her Confirmation. As she was leav ing with her parents, she remarked, ‘I never knew he hurt so much for us. I’m going to try to be better for him Father Dreisbach sees the Shroud as an ecumenical bond. “It focuses on the essence of the Christian faith: the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not on the kind of collar a priest or minister wears; whether it’s wine or grape juice for communion; or whether one has stained glass or plain glass windows in church." “The Shroud needs no one to promulgate its significance,” he says. “My apostolate is simply to ‘give grace a chance’." Let me help you provide future... of others. A gift annuity with the Propagation of the Faith gives you a generous income during your lifetime and helps the Church carry on Jesus' mission to the world. Your investment is safe and guaranteed. Falling interest rates do not affect a gift annuity and it gives you substantial tax savings. Would you like to know more about an annuity, or about remembering the Propagation of the Faith in your will? If you are 50 years of age or older, write to me for more information. 1 will keep your inquiry in total confidence. -r National Director Dear Bishop McCormack: Please send me detailed information about a Gift Annuity with the Propagation of the Faith. Name Address City State Zip Phone( ) Amount Considered: $ Date of Birth (required information) Please send me information on how 1 can remember the Propagation of the Faith in my will. □ Please mail coupon to me: Bishop William J. McCormack National Director, Propagation of the Faith G.P.O. Box 1950, New York, NY 10116 (Dept. C > The Propagation of the Faith Supporting the Church's worldwide mission work ^ _ 2/12 hi wmmmi Your gift is tax deductible ■■ hm m wmmm mmm ■ Low Cost Term Life Insurance SOMMERS/ MORELANDS ASSOC. Independent insurance Broker Always the Best — Companies/ Rates/Service 252-8400 Annual Rates A6E $100,000 $250,000 $500,000 $1,000,0 35 104 200 375 725 40 121 253 480 035 45 157 320 615 1205 50 203 403 780 1535 55 273 593 1150 2255 60 383 875 1700 3355 Road Britannia Ltd. Professional Repair Service All Foreign Cars Fuel Injection and Diagnostic Center Ken Dewis, Prop. Free Estimates 266-1699 Most Major Credit 14 yrs in Buckhead 237-1683 Cards Accepted 3190 Roswell Rd., N.E. Buckhead The London Times in an editorial on the Shroud (Oc tober 16, 1986) proposes an interesting hypothesis: "An authentic Turin Shroud is too amazing an object to have been left in the tomb by accident, perchance to have survived until scien tific progress could reach a point where it could unlock the secret. It is almost as if God had calculated that some 2.000 years ahead science would have replac ed theology as the commonly-accepted ar biter of truth, and planned accordingly." IFurther information on the exhibit may be obtain ed by calling 577-5590.1 ONE YEAR CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT 476-0163 INVESTORS TRUST AT GWINNETT PLACE Minimum opening balance: $500 Substantial interest penalty for early withdrawal. Rates are subject to change daily without notice. Member FDIC 3542 Satellite Blvd. Duluth, GA 30136
