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"Yes, sir. And Jack is the best person I know to find out what and where those
weak spots are."
Secretary-General Hansen liked the idea. "Take that up with Jack when you see
him in Rome," Hansen said.
The Prince of Rome 259
Monday, July 1,2019 Rome
Decker's plane from Frankfurt arrived the next morning at the Leonardo da
Vinci Airport in
Fiumicino, just southwest of Rome. Having been warned about pickpockets and
luggage thieves in and around Rome, Decker held tightly to his briefcase and
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carry-on luggage as he scanned the crowd for any sign of Christopher Goodman,
who was to meet him there. As Director of Public Affairs for the
United Nations, Decker had access to all of the U.N.'s small fleet of private
jets, but whenever possible he chose to fly on commercial aircraft. "Much
safer," he told anyone who asked.
From behind a group of Italian businessmen Decker saw a hand waving and then
Christopher emerged and hurried toward him. "Welcome to Rome," Christopher
said as he gave Decker a hug. "How was your trip?"
"Fine. Fine."
"Do you have luggage?"
"Just this," Decker answered, lifting his briefcase and a large piece of
carry-on luggage from his side.
"Great. We can get started on your tour of Rome right away. You've never been
to Rome before, have you?"
"No. The closest I came was in '78 when I was in Turin and Milan."
"Well, I think you're really going to like it."
"I have no doubt of that."
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As they moved through the crowds to the exit, Decker noticed that several
people seemed to be pointing at them, and as they waited on the curb for the
limo, several cars nearly collided when a very attractive young woman suddenly
stopped her car to stare at them. Christopher ignored the woman's curious gape
but Decker couldn't help but remark. "I think she thought she knew you," he
told Christopher, as they got in the limo.
"Shall we start with the Colosseum?" Christopher asked, taking no notice of
Decker's comment. "I'm afraid all the museums are closed on Monday except the
Vatican, but there's still more than enough to see to fill the rest of the
day.
"Roma, non basta una vita!" Decker answered in Italian, meaning 'For Rome, one
life is not enough.'
"I didn't know you knew Italian," Christopher remarked.
260 In His Image
"You just heard every word I know," Decker confessed. "The stewardess taught
it to me."
Christopher smiled. Answering his earlier question, Decker added, "Whatever
you say. You're the tour guide. There is one thing I want to see that may not
be on the usual list of must-see places."
"What's that?" asked Christopher.
"The Arch of Titus."
"Oh sure. It's at the Forum, near the Colosseum. We can start there if you
like."
"Great," Decker said. "Actually, I think you'll find it more interesting than
you realize."
The Triumphal Arch of Titus rose imposingly against the backdrop of the
Colosseum, barely scarred by the twenty centuries that had passed since it was
constructed to commemorate the successful campaign against Jerusalem by Titus.
Decker scanned the carved images in the arch and quickly found what he was
looking for. "Here it is," he said. Christopher looked at the carving over
Decker's shoulder. The scene depicted the spoils of war being taken from the
conquered city of
Jerusalem.
"Okay. Now will you tell me what this is all about?" "Sure," answered Decker.
"I don't know if I
ever mentioned Joshua Rosen to you." Christopher's face gave no indication
that he recognized the name. "Well, he was a man, a scientist actually, whom I
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knew years ago. We met on the Turin expedition." Christopher's ears perked up.
"Later he moved to Israel and I did a story on him.
Anyway, when Tom Donafin and I were in Israel, just before we were taken
hostage, Joshua Rosen gave us a tour of some of the sites in Jerusalem, one of
which was the Wailing Wall that's what they used to call the western wall of
the old Jewish temple before the Palestinians blew it up and the Jews built
the new Temple." Christopher nodded, indicating his familiarity with the
recent history of the Jewish Temple. "Well, while we were there, Joshua told
us about the Ark of the
Covenant and gave his theory on what had happened to it. I'll have to tell you
all about it some time. But anyway, the point of the story is that he told us
about the Arch of Titus and this carving. Titus was the commander of the Roman
forces that pillaged and destroyed Jerusalem in 70
A.D."
The Prince of Rome 261
"Yes, I know. I prophesied that before the crucifixion," interjected
Christopher.
"You never told me you remembered that!"
"Don't get too excited," Christopher answered. "I don't remember it. I read
about it in the
Bible."
"Oh," said Decker. "Well, anyway, as you can see, the carving is intricately
detailed. Despite its age, you can clearly make out the items being taken from
Jerusalem." Christopher looked more closely.
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"Yeah, I see that. It's really well preserved."
Christopher didn't seem to be getting the point. "Don't you see?" Decker
asked. "The Ark of the
Covenant is not among the treasures shown in the carving."
"I'm sorry, Decker. I don't get it. So what?"
Decker suddenly realized that there was a lot he had not explained. "I'm
sorry. I guess I need to give you some more details, but the reason for the
interest has to do with the Shroud of Turin.
Joshua Rosen had a fascinating theory involving the Ark of the Covenant that
would explain why the original carbon 14 dating of the Shroud showed it to be
only about a thousand years old." Decker proceeded to tell Christopher the
whole story of the Ark as it had been told to him and Tom
Donafin by Joshua Rosen.
"So you think the Shroud was in the Ark all those years?" Christopher asked
after listening to
Decker's story.
"I don't know, but it would answer some questions about the Shroud. And about
you," Decker added.
As they talked and looked at the carvings on the Arch, they were unaware that
two young boys had approached them from behind. "Scusi, Signor Goodman,
potremo avere la suafirma?" the older of the two boys asked.
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