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Authors: Gerald T. McLaughlin
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have an explosive effect on the Catholic laity—but in varying ways. Those in Europe and North America, chafing under Vatican secretiveness and medievalism, would see the parchment as a support for radical change in Church policy. On the other hand, Catholics who lived in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where the traditions of the Church were still deeply woven into local cultures, would be scandalized. They light candles before their santos and believe in the devil, in miracles, and in the healing power of relics. These Catholics would not accept the idea that Jesus was married— let alone to a reformed prostitute. If the parchment werereleased, many of these more traditional Catholics would desert the Church.
As for Diefenbacher, Barbo doubted the parchment would enhance his chances of being elected pope. The archbishop of Durban was simply too controversial in his views to persuade two-thirds of the electors plus one to vote for him. He had strong backing from liberal European and American electors, but little support anywhere else.
But there was a more serious problem that worried Barbo — apostolic succession. When he was growing up in Milan, there was never any expectation that he would take over his father's bookshop. In today's world, children routinely have careers separate from those of their fathers. But that was not true in earlier cultures. In first-century Palestine, the children of rabbis themselves became rabbis and assumed the leadership of their fathers' congregations. Jewish culture, therefore, would have expected that, if Jesus had borne a son, his son would have taken over the leadership of his followers. But until the appearance of this Jewish census record, there was no credible evidence that Jesus had male offspring. Only the Gospel of Philip — a Gnostic text not included in the Christian canon of the New Testament—makes passing reference to a divine bloodline.
In his Gospel, Philip, one of the Twelve, calls the Magdalene the person whom Jesus loved above all His disciples, someone whom he often kissed on the lips—a sign of intimacy. At the end of his Gospel, Philip speaks enigmatically of the Son of Man and the Son of the Son of Man — presumably a reference to a male offspring of Jesus and the Magdalene. Scholars have never paid much attention to Philip's reference because of a lack of corroboration. But now the Magdalene parchment could provide that corroboration. It intimates that Jesus and the Magdalene gave birth to a son — the Son of the Son of Man as Philip calls him. In Jewish tradition this child, not Peter, would have been expected to lead Jesus' followers. The references in the New Testament to Jesus' making Peter the rock on which he would build his Church might have been a later emendation justifying what in fact happened rather than what Jesus wanted.
The possibility that Jesus wished leadership in his Church to pass down through his own bloodline rather than through apostolic succession would be a major distraction in the next conclave. Even if it were true, there was no remedy. It would be impossible to trace Jesus' bloodline through two thousand years of history. In the midst of such turmoil, however, there would be an army of Judases who would come forward seeking to manipulate and destabilize the Church. There was a risk that all of the good that the Church had stood for would be forgotten. In a real sense, the next conclave could very well be the last.
As he approached Ponte Sant'Angelo, Cardinal Barbo saw the dome of St. Peter's looming ahead. He felt a sudden chill from the Tiber. He could sense a presence moving in the dark waters. As he looked down into the river, the presence was rising to the surface. At first it looked like the face of a young child. But as Barbo watched, the face grew old, and a malevolent smile formed on its lips. He smelled a fetid, almost putrid odor coming from the water and recoiled in terror. When he looked again, he saw the papal
As for Diefenbacher, Barbo doubted the parchment would enhance his chances of being elected pope. The archbishop of Durban was simply too controversial in his views to persuade two-thirds of the electors plus one to vote for him. He had strong backing from liberal European and American electors, but little support anywhere else.
But there was a more serious problem that worried Barbo — apostolic succession. When he was growing up in Milan, there was never any expectation that he would take over his father's bookshop. In today's world, children routinely have careers separate from those of their fathers. But that was not true in earlier cultures. In first-century Palestine, the children of rabbis themselves became rabbis and assumed the leadership of their fathers' congregations. Jewish culture, therefore, would have expected that, if Jesus had borne a son, his son would have taken over the leadership of his followers. But until the appearance of this Jewish census record, there was no credible evidence that Jesus had male offspring. Only the Gospel of Philip — a Gnostic text not included in the Christian canon of the New Testament—makes passing reference to a divine bloodline.
In his Gospel, Philip, one of the Twelve, calls the Magdalene the person whom Jesus loved above all His disciples, someone whom he often kissed on the lips—a sign of intimacy. At the end of his Gospel, Philip speaks enigmatically of the Son of Man and the Son of the Son of Man — presumably a reference to a male offspring of Jesus and the Magdalene. Scholars have never paid much attention to Philip's reference because of a lack of corroboration. But now the Magdalene parchment could provide that corroboration. It intimates that Jesus and the Magdalene gave birth to a son — the Son of the Son of Man as Philip calls him. In Jewish tradition this child, not Peter, would have been expected to lead Jesus' followers. The references in the New Testament to Jesus' making Peter the rock on which he would build his Church might have been a later emendation justifying what in fact happened rather than what Jesus wanted.
The possibility that Jesus wished leadership in his Church to pass down through his own bloodline rather than through apostolic succession would be a major distraction in the next conclave. Even if it were true, there was no remedy. It would be impossible to trace Jesus' bloodline through two thousand years of history. In the midst of such turmoil, however, there would be an army of Judases who would come forward seeking to manipulate and destabilize the Church. There was a risk that all of the good that the Church had stood for would be forgotten. In a real sense, the next conclave could very well be the last.
As he approached Ponte Sant'Angelo, Cardinal Barbo saw the dome of St. Peter's looming ahead. He felt a sudden chill from the Tiber. He could sense a presence moving in the dark waters. As he looked down into the river, the presence was rising to the surface. At first it looked like the face of a young child. But as Barbo watched, the face grew old, and a malevolent smile formed on its lips. He smelled a fetid, almost putrid odor coming from the water and recoiled in terror. When he looked again, he saw the papal
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