shroud of turin conference in dallas sept. 8-11, 2005

The conference, which is held every few years, will be open to the public this time.

DALLAS, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dallas International Shroud of Turin Conference, a scientific conclave for presenting peer-reviewed research papers on what is thought to be the 2,000-year-old burial cloth of the historic Jesus, will be held in Dallas, September 8-11, at the Adolphus Hotel.
The Dallas conclave of scientists and scholars are expected to shed new light on the age-old question of whether the image on the Shroud is a visible projection of Christ's resurrection as some believers claim, or a clever medieval fake that has long hoaxed believers.

The conference, which is held every few years and features about 30 presenters in many disciplines, is sponsored by three internationally known Shroud organizations. They include: the 400-year-old CENTRO shroud organization headquartered in Turin, Italy; the 50-year-old Holy Shroud Guild based in Esopus, New York; and the American Shroud of Turin Association for Research (AMSTAR), a scientific organization located in Dallas, which is also the local coordinating organization for the conference.

"The Turin Catholic Church authorities, who are the papal custodians of the Shroud, will for the first time attend and participate in an international conference outside of Turin," says Michael Minor, AMSTAR vice-president and Dallas conference coordinator.

Monsignor Gieuseppe Ghiberti, advisor and spokesperson for Shroud matters to His Eminence Severino Cardinal Poletto, Papal Custodian of the Holy Shroud at Turin, will head the delegation of Turin officials who will attend and participate in the conference. Among the other Turin authorities who will attend and present papers are Professor Bruno Barberis, Professor Baima Bollone, Dr. Gian-Maria Zaccone, Professor Nello Ballossino and Susie Phillips. Other members of the Cardinal's Commission on the Shroud who will participate include Professor Karlheinz Dietz of Germany and Dr. Mechthild Flury-Lemberg of Austria. Another speaker of note is U.S. presenter Dame Isabel Piczek, particle physicist and monumental artist.

"It's important to note that papers will not only be presented in the hard sciences of chemistry, physics and medicine," explains D'Muhala, "but also in other fields including art history, theology, biblical history, archaeology, Byzantine histry, and textile history. It will be a broad scientific and historical look at the Shroud, appealing to both the scientific community and the general public."

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