Posted on 09/03/2014 12:27:27 PM PDT by marshmallow
Some believe it houses evidence of extraterrestrial life. Others, ancient texts that disprove the existence of Jesus. Perhaps dark truths that would discredit and destroy the Church?
A mistranslated Latin word may be responsible for the conspiracy theories about the Vatican Secret Archives. In fact, the actual contents can stand on their own without delving into the absurd.
The archives, or Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum, contains historical records chronicling intriguing historical events. Its contents, once plundered by Napoleon and moved to Paris, span 12 centuries.
* There’s the document that began the Protestant reformations: Pope Leo X’s 1521 decree excommunicating Martin Luther.
* A 1530 petition from 85 English clergymen and lords asks Pope Clement VII to annul King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The seals of many of the signatories were affixed to the petition, each held in place by red ribbon. This is considered the source of the term “red tape.” Clement refused, of course, leading to the establishment of the Anglican Church.
* Michelangelo penned a letter to the pope warning that Vatican guards hadn’t received paychecks in three months, and that they were threatening to walk off the job.
* A year after Columbus landed in what became North America, Pope Alexander VI issued Inter Cetera, the 1493 papal bull that split the New World between Spain and Portugal.
* There are letters from Abraham Lincoln as well as Jefferson Davis, who wrote to try to convince Pope Pius IX that the South was an innocent victim of Northern aggression. Neither man was Catholic.
(Excerpt) Read more at cruxnow.com ...
Did you put up the new video today? I was dying from laughter.
No buy somebody did.
al must be somewhat sight impaired.....
He’s illiterate, obviously. Now illiterates hold down good jobs on tv. It’s like the movie “Network” come to life.
my browsers is not currently allowing me to veiw youtube video...sadly in this case..im certain
al is a national comedy treasure...when he’s not egging on MOBS...or trying to ruin someone’s life with baseless accusations
I wonder if there’s groaning in the control rooms when he starts “reading” the teleprompter - the black Ted Baxter. Of course, Ronin Farrow is no genius either despite his mommy saying so.
I have to wonder whether al plays up his ignorance just a bit so as not to appear to be.....an “uncle tom”
no orator he. be much assured
Then he needs an Emmy for best actor in a comedy series. Sadly, malaprops are very common within his community.
I dint know nuthin bout no molasses pops. of that be assured....Al Sharpton Set 3 2014
What an idiot. Obama dwiddling his thumbs...
Your Galileo reference.
Which is misleading, since "the sitting pope decides when to expand the archives. Pope Francis is considering when to open the full archives of Pope Pius XII, the man dubbed “Hitler’s Pope” by some," meaning only a select portion has been made available. And even that is difficult to obtain much.
Scholars enter through the Porta Sant’Anna, pass Swiss Guards, walk through the Cortile del Belvedere, and present credentials that must be renewed every 6 months. Journalists, students, and amateur historians aren’t welcome. <
Once admitted, there’s no browsing. Instead, researchers request specific documents, using bulky catalogues, some handwritten in Italian or Latin. They can request up to three folders each day.
If in just a few minutes they realize that what they’re seeking isn’t in the requested folders, they’re forced to pack up for the day – a challenge for scholars on a deadline or those who have traveled long distances.
Computers are allowed, but photos aren’t, which means long sessions in the third-floor reading room typing notes.
David Kertzer spent years researching in the Secret Archives for his recent book, The Pope and Mussolini. He writes that Pope Pius XI, and his secretary of state, who became Pope Pius XII, made deals with Mussolini to protect the Church’s interest in exchange for silence on state-sponsored anti-Semitism, a conclusion at odds with the Church’s account.
Please don’t post to me. I’m asking all people with an ax to grind against Catholicism 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to not post to me. I couldn’t care less what some dopey writer who had access to Vatican files for 3 hours has to say about Mussolini, the Pope or Benjy the dog. I’m not interested in the foolish writings of Dan Brown either. I’m concerned about ISLAM. Although, at this point, protestant hatred is starting to worry me.
Is there any archive or museum possessing artifacts of great antiquity, which allows Joe Public untrammeled access, to do as he pleases?
You should be concerned about RCs who think they can turn FR into a Catholic news and promotional service and not see her elitist presumptions challenged, whining about such as being hatred, while expressing their scorn of all Protestantism. Examples if you want.
I was referring to the tone of statements made to the effect that the Vatican Archives were an exception.
I detected no such "tone" because there is none.
The principal point of the article is that the archives are not "secret". IOW, the title "Vatican Secret Archives" is a misnomer.
There is no colletion of precious, historical documents or artifacts anywhere, that is not maintained under some form of restricted access.
Oh, I didn’t know it was a promotional service for the Catholic Church. And it’s nice to know you aren’t all that concerned about islam.
What you may detect is one thing, but what the article first refers is the VSA as a whole, as in "the actual contents can stand on their own," which 'span 12 centuries" in the portion you posted. Which infers these as a whole are no longer secret - "Not open or public; kept private or not revealed" (WordWeb) - but which in fact it turns out not to be the case, only that " there is transparency around many items known to be housed there," and "the sitting pope decides when to expand the archives," and thus Francis is considering when to open the full archives of Pope Pius XII.
Thus the restrictions can mean such things as that the VSA "are surrounded with their own controversy over what they might show about the Church's diplomatic conduct in World War II, and whether Pope Pius XII did too little to protest the Holocaust. Debate has been raging since an International Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission suspended its activities in 2000 after requests by panel members for unrestricted access to the archives were turned down." - http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-06-24-vatican24_CV_N.htm
And considering how extensive the archives are, to convey there is nothing hidden would be quite a statement:
According to Walter Brandmuller, emeritus professor of Church History at the University of Augsburg and now president of the Papal Committee for Historical Scholarship in Rome, this so-called Secret Vatican Archive occupies today seventy-five kilometers of shelf space, or almost forty-seven miles. The documents for the years 1923 to 1958 alone, comprising the pontificates of Popes Pius XI and Pius XII, run to an estimated three million pages. - http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4465
There is no colletion of precious, historical documents or artifacts anywhere, that is not maintained under some form of restricted access.
Even if so, the devil is in the details of what "restricted" means, but this can indeed be understandable. But now you have more info for your article!
Which is understandable since i rarely see you in the frequent debates here because of that reality.
And it’s nice to know you aren’t all that concerned about islam.
I do deal with that by God's grace, and have had many debates with them elsewhere, but i have never seen a FR poster promoting Islam here. If they did i doubt if my help would be needed.
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