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New report finds Shroud of Turin dates back to the era of the earthly ministry of Jesus, contradicting 1988 evidence dating cloth as being centuries newer. New scientific procedures says fabric in the shroud is about 2,000 years old. The study also analyzed traces of pollen on the shroud. “The pollen samples gathered are from plants that are native to not just the Middle East, but specifically the area around Judea, Palestine, and Syria within that time period,” said Brian Hyland, curator at Museum of the Bible. “There’s also pollen from the area around Constantinople. There’s a lot of pollen...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even with modern scientific technology, the Shroud of Turin continues to baffle researchers. Barrie Schwortz was the documenting photographer for the Shroud of Turin research project in 1978, an in-depth examination of what many people believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, "it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I'm a Jew and involved with probably the most important relic of Christianity," Schwortz told Catholic News Service. "Isn't it funny how God always picks a Jew to be the messenger," he said....

For nearly two decades, a stubborn Barrie Schwortz remained skeptical about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, even after having seen most of the overwhelming evidence in favor up close with his own eyes. Still this lifelong Jew and official photographer for the scientific study team that investigated the shroud in 1978 kept wondering — does this centuries-old burial cloth bear the actual image of the crucified Jesus, as millions believe, or does this widely venerated relic represent little more than a great medieval forgery, perpetuated by a clever artist? “I was skeptical [about the shroud’s authenticity] for 18...