Shroud of Turin supports Resurrection, expert affirms

Rome, Italy, May 7, 2010 / 13:57 pm

Professor Paolo Di Lazzaro, who is head of a group of researchers from the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Development in Italy, noted this week that the latest discoveries on the Shroud of Turin “are not in contradiction with the theory of the Resurrection” of Christ.

In an interview with Europa Press, Di Lazzaro explained the results of their study, which lasted four years and focused on how the image came to appear on the cloth. According to tradition, the shroud was used to wrap the body of Jesus after the crucifixion.

Di Lazzaro said that scientists have not been able to reproduce an image, similar to the one on the shroud, with any kind of contact technique.  While from far away, differences in the replications may appear unnoticeable, under a microscope they appear drastically different, he added.

The peculiarity of the original image lies in the “depth of coloration,” which on Shroud does not go beyond the first layer of strands in the fabric, Di Lazzaro said.  Upon observation, his team came to the conclusion that “the image on the Shroud is similar to those some textile manufactures create through the use of laser.”

After years of experimentation, for the first time the team was able to color the outermost strands of a fabric similarly to how the image is present on the Shroud by using “extremely brief but intense ultraviolet light impulses emitted by a special laser.”

Even so, the researchers were only able to reproduce a small portion of the Shroud, as “in order to color the entire image you would need 14,000 lasers, something which for now is impossible,” he said.

Nevertheless, Di Lazzaro said the discovery at least points to a possible physical mechanism that may have resulted in the creation of the image. This mechanism “does not contradict the religious theory of the miracle or the resurrection,” he said, as it could have been the cause of the release of energy that created the image, although “this is an area outside our competence as scientists.”

Recently, Di Lazzaro organized a seminar in Frascati, Italy, during which 48 experts from around the world gathered together to discuss images called Acheiropoietos, that is, “not made by hands.”  They also examined the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Manopello Veil, which, according to tradition, is the veil used by Veronica to wipe the face of Jesus.