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| Saint Peter as Pope (Peter Paul Rubens) |
Although the Vatican has never actually proven that the nine bone fragments in their possession are Saint Peter's, the faithful keep coming nevertheless.
So does it actually matter whether some archaeologists remain unconvinced?
Not according to top Vatican official Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who had this to say about the matter:
It's not as if pilgrims who go to the altar (of Peter's
tomb) think that in that moment in which they profess
their faith that below them are
the relics of Peter… They go there to profess the faith.
Shortly after the 1939 death of Pope Pius XI, archaeologists discovered a "funerary monument" which read "Petros eni" ("Peter is
here"). This was later considered to be "convincing," as far as Pope Paul VI (head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978) was concerned.
Whether Peter's bones are there or not seems to be almost irrelevant.
What matters most to these devotees is that "Peter is here" no matter what.
Resources
http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-unveils-bone-fragments-said-peters-095320034.html
Copyright January 10, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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