Contents ( 44)
- DAUGHTER OF GOD
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- CONTENTS
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
The American frowned. He was practiced at deception, but quickly ruled out anything but honesty when God was involved. “Begging your pardon, Your Eminence, but I would have to think about that,” he said finally. He chewed on a corner of his lower lip and gazed out the window for a moment at the brilliant sunshine. His heart pounded; he swallowed against the dryness in his mouth. Behind him a clock ticked.
The cardinal waited patiently. Then the American looked at him and spoke. “The first is possible, even probable. The second…?” He shook his head in doubt. “I don’t know. I’m not sure that any man could make that decision until the time came to die.”
The American looked apprehensively at Braun.
“Excellent!” the cardinal said.
Relief flooded through the American.
“An honest answer and that gives me confidence,” Braun continued. Then the smile vanished from his face, replaced by the stern countenance of the Assessor. “The Almighty Father accepts your best efforts. But I accept only your best results. Do you understand that?” The American nodded. “Will you agree to accept me as your guide and your only Confessor? “ Again the American nodded his assent. “Will you agree to follow my directions to the letter, the penalty for disobedience being excommunication and eternal damnation?”
The American gave him a long stunned look, then nodded. “Yes, Your Eminence.”
“Good,” the cardinal said.
“You’ve heard, of course, of the Shroud of Turin?”
The American nodded. “Of course. Who hasn’t? Reportedly the burial shroud of Jesus Christ It’s a long roll of linen with the image of a crucified man on it. All of the wounds and marks, all of the physical characteristics of the man are consistent with the accounts of Christ’s death. I remember there was quite a controversy over whether to recognize it as a true relic.”
Braun paused to take a sip of tea. He used his napkin to dab at the light perspiration that had formed on his upper lip, then continued.
“That is a very concise synopsis, at least, the public version.” Braun leaned back in his chair, his voice slower now. “As you are probably aware, the Vatican has never sanctified the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. If you gathered together every blessed fragment of the True Cross that the Vatican has blessed, you’d fill up a lumberyard. Yet the Vatican refuses to bless the Shroud of Turin. Why?” Braun’s question was purely rhetorical. “Because we are afraid to, that’s why. Because we know there is a second shroud out there—in better condition, with an indisputable provenance and indisputable documentation, attested to by the most unimpeachable of sources. And if we bless the Shroud of Turin, with its obscure history, I fear that one day we will be called upon to do the same with the second shroud.”
The American looked confused. “But I don’t understand, Are you saying a second shroud has been found that has been verified as belonging to Christ? If that is the case, why isn’t it made public, why isn’t it—”.