Posted on 10/16/2007 1:47:47 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Descendants of ‘Holy Grail’ knights demand an apology from the Pope Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
A British order of Templars that claims direct descent from the original Knights Templar is calling on the Pope to apologise after the recent discovery of an ancient Vatican document showing that the knights had been absolved of the charges laid against them seven centuries ago.
The accusations of heresy led to the disbandment of the order and the burning at the stake of Jacques de Molay, the order’s grand master.
The Vatican will next week publish a 5,900-euro (£3,925) collector’s edition of its documents on the Knights Templar, the wealthy medieval order formed to protect Christian pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem after the holy city was captured in the Crusades.
The knights remain at the centre of numerous Holy Grail conspiracy theories and intrigues, including the plot of the novel, The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. One of the documents, the Chinon Parchment, shows that in the early 14th century, Pope Clement V’s investigation of the order absolved the knights of the heresy charges that led to many of them being tortured and burnt.
Ben Acheson, a member of a Templar order based in Hertford, Hertfordshire, which claims direct descent from the original Poor Fellow Soldiers of Jesus Christ and the Temple of Solomon Grand Preceptory, called for Pope Benedict XVI to apologise formally.
He said: “The word ‘sorry’ is conspicous by its absence. But basically, they have said we were absolved, which is an historic admission. For me, that makes it all the more astonishing that the tortures and executions were allowed to continue. For me, that is why the apology is still the missing piece of the puzzle.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
"I said: 'A-pologise.'" -Otto
Yep. I will make the popcorn.
I was wondering who would try to claim legacy.
Since they agree they were not guilty one assumes they will return to the practice of the orthodox Catholic Christian faith of their ancestors...
I, on the other hand, want to thank the Pope and Louis, by the grace of God king of France and Navarre, for the revocation of the edict of Nantes on Oct 22, 1685.
If it hadn’t been revoked, my ancestor would not have came to the U.S. and Heaven help me, I’d be French.
No one was tortured or executed in England as a result of the King of France's action against the Templars. His beef is with the 14th-century dead King Philip of France, not Ratzinger. He should ask Philip for an apology.
Next thing you know, they’ll want reparations.
Everyone wants an apology. Everyone wants reparations. Good grief, people...move on.
Or an apology for the Norman Conquest in 1066. Has he asked Germany and Denmark an apology for the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes’ raping and pillaging raids in the 400s?
Why don't they tell by whom?
People need to learn to Get Over It!
Neither the current Pope, nor the descendants of the Knights had anything to do with events in the 7th century.
Don't be buffoons. Get on with life.
Why should Pope Ruth Gledhill apologize, and when did she become a religion correspondent?
I think that these people ought to seek reparations from the descendants of Pope Clement V. They ought to be searching for a while.
“Here in Castle Anthrax, we have but one punishment for setting alight the grail-shaped beacon.”
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