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Pope to bow before Turin Shroud on Sunday

The Pope will bow before the Turin Shroud on Sunday as more than two million people are expected to see the so-called burial cloth of Christ as it goes on display.

The Pontiff, 83, beset in recent months by the paedophile priest scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church across the world, is likely to attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Turin for a glimpse of both him and the cloth said to bear an image of Christ's body and face.

The last papal viewing of the bloodstained cloth was by Benedict's popular predecessor Pope John Paul II in 2000.

The Polish pope encouraged scientists to continue their analyses, "to reach adequate answers to the questions connected to this Shroud" while respecting the "sensitivity of the faithful."

Some two million people are expected to view one of the most revered objects in Christendom - and among the most disputed - over six weeks that began on April 10 in this northern Italian city.

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)