Letters: 26 April 2015

The bogus relic

The Turin shroud is a forgery. Carbon dating tests by laboratories in Oxford, Zurich, and Tucson, Arizona “determined that the fibres in the cloth date from the Middle Ages, sometime between 1260 and 1390”. In fact, the shroud was discovered in the French city of Troyes, southeast of Paris, in the mid-14th century.

Pope Benedict described it as an “icon written in blood”. But he did not say whose blood it was. The image on the shroud shows the face of an older man rather than the face of a man in his early 30s, as Jesus is alleged to have been when he was crucified.

If the shroud were genuine, it would produce more “miracles” than the “arm bones” of St Paul and St George combined! 

Prof. Luigi Garlaschelli, an organic chemist at the University of Pavia, reproduced the full-size shroud with materials and techniques that were available in the Middle Ages. He said that his feat proved that the Turin shroud was a medieval forgery. 

The accuracy of the three independent laboratory tests was challenged by some hard-core believers who claimed that the restoration of the shroud in past centuries had “contaminated” the results. Let them produce the evidence for this contamination, such as, when and how was it contaminated, and by whom?

What these believers assert without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. Until then, the results of three independent laboratories still stand. If some Catholics cannot accept the scientific evidence, it’s their problem!

John Guillaumier, St Julian’s

Closing the gap

I refer to the news report titled ‘Simon survives in Labour’s 54% win’ by pointing out that in a separate news report dealing with local elections as reported in ‘Times of Malta’, April 17, 2015, Labour sources said that the Labour Party was ‘confident of, at least, maintaining the overall 57 per cent majority achieved in the same localities in 2012’ and also, went on to say that ‘there was also hope of making gains...’. 

Since the Labour Party obtained only 53.5 per cent of the vote in this round and since, also, the 17-point gap of three years ago dropped to nine points, one wonders why Prime Minister Joseph Muscat seemed to be happy with this result and was seen laughing his head off at Marsa.

One can conclude by telling him that so am I and countless other Nationalist supporters.

Edward Torpiano, Floriana

Consoling the PN 

In his warped logic on the local council elections, Simon Busuttil compares the votes polled by the PL in 2012 and those polled on Saturday, 11 April, 2015, showing a reduction from the 17% gap in 2012 to the 9% gap in 2015. Using the same yardstick, the PN had also reduced the gap on 13 March, 2013, when the gap had been reduced from 17% during the local elections of 2012, to an 11% gap in the general election of 2013!

How come the PN had not celebrated also then, when losing the election but reducing the percentage gap between the two parties?

The answer is very simple. Busuttil and his leadership colleagues are trying to console their hardcore supporters in order to ensure that no one dares challenge Busuttil’s position as leader, if not their position too!

Eddy Privitera, Mosta