Church rules out new Shroud of Turin exams for the moment

Monday, May 22, 2000 | 9:03 a.m.

The Turin archbishop, Monsignor Severino Poletto, told a Vatican news conference that there has been no scientific advance to warrant any new tests.

The shroud bears a faded image of a bearded man and what appear to be bloodstains that coincide with Christ's crucifixion wounds. But Carbon-14 testing has suggested that the cloth dates to the 13th or 14th century. Some argue that the test results may have been skewed by contamination.

The shroud will go on display in Turin from Aug. 12 to Oct. 22, its second public showing in two years.

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