Vatican Dismisses Papyrus Referring to Jesus’s Wife as ‘Clumsy Forgery’ - Nation
Vatican Dismisses Papyrus Referring to Jesus’s Wife as ‘Clumsy Forgery’ - Nation - the Boston Globe
The Vatican newspaper is dismissing as “a clumsy forgery” the papyrus fragment identified by Harvard professor Karen L. King as a fourth-century Egyptian text portraying Jesus as married.
The current edition of the weekly newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, includes a lengthy analysis by Coptic scholar Alberto Camplani raising questions about the fragment’s unknown provenance and King’s interpretation of its meaning. An accompanying editorial derides King’s argument as “compliant with a contemporary ideology that has nothing to do with ancient Christianity and the figure of Jesus.”
The development was hardly surprising, given the Catholic Church’s strict adherence to doctrine and tradition and its commitment to a celibate male priesthood. But it drew renewed attention to mounting skepticism among scholars about the fragment’s authenticity.
The Smithsonian Channel said Friday it would postpone pending further scientific testing its premiere of “The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” which refers to the name King gave the fragment. The program was in the making for months and originally scheduled to be broadcast Sunday. A preview for the documentary on the channel’s website called the fragment “one of the most significant discoveries of all time.”
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“Our program will take into account the upcoming tests as well as the academic response to the initial announcement,” said Tom Hayden, general manager for the Smithsonian Channel, in a statement. “This will enable us to present a richer and more complete story.”
A spokesman for the Smithsonian Channel said the decision to delay the broadcast was made earlier this week.