Monday, November 27, 2006
PAPAL SIGHTSEEING
On Wednesday the Pope plans to visit Ephesus where there is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary--the house where she is said to have lived after the Ascension. Benedict will celebrate Mass there. India Catholic Reports:
The following day, Benedict XVI will travel to Smyrna, the country's third-largest city, known as "The Pearl of the Aegean," from where he will go to Ephesus, the city where the Apostle Paul lived and was captive, and where, according to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist also lived.
In Ephesus, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass at the Meryem Ana Evi (House of Mary) Shrine and deliver a homily. It was in this city that a Council in the year 431 proclaimed the Virgin Mary "Theotokos," of Mother of God.
What will be the impact of this event on the claims of the Templars who believe that Mary Magdalene and the Blessed Virgin lived in France? Graham Phillips claims:
What became of the Virgin Mary after the Crucifixion is one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible. The New Testament tells us almost nothing: not where she lived, nor where or how she died. The Marian Conspiracy is Graham Phillips’ personal quest to solve this fascinating enigma.
You know what's coming--the evil Catholic Church once again arranged a cover-up:
Following the turmoil of World War II, the Vatican instigated a project to investigate the authenticity of the two rival tombs. Although no historical evidence was found to verify the case for either of these two sites, the Vatican archaeologist Giovanni Benedetti claimed to have found persuasive evidence for a third and completely forgotten tomb. In 1950 he was about to publish his findings when Pope Pius XII declared, for the first time, that belief in the Assumption was dogma - official Church teaching. As all Roman Catholics were now required to accept Mary’s bodily ascension into heaven, it followed that there could be no tomb of the Virgin Mary anywhere in the world. Benedetti was summoned to the Vatican and told to keep quiet about what he had discovered.
The Masonic stronghold Rosslyn Chapel offers Phillips book for sale on their website.
Note the publisher--Bear & Co., part of Inner Traditions. Bear & Co. was Matthew Fox's publishing house founded by a channeler and her husband, Barbara Hand and Gerry Clow according to this brief bio.
Will the Templars simply ignore Benedict's Mass? Or will they try to spin it in a way that preserves their theory?
