The Keeper's Cup by Ken Fry

Author:Ken Fry [Fry, Ken]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: archaeological thriller, religious mystery, Religious suspense, Supernatural, Mysticism, historical fantasy
Published: 2020-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

30

The Vatican

He looked down at his swollen and painful knees. The beginnings of arthritis worsened his physical discomfort. He had been kneeling for almost an hour and praying that his suspicions would be unfounded. Pope Adrian raised his eyes skywards, to the open window where he could see the rising sun blazing in a clear blue sky. In spite of his prayers, he was unable to shake off his disturbed thoughts.

All was not well in Rome and the Vatican.

Several dark clouds swept through his mind. First was Inspector Rizzo’s disclosure of traces of Cardinal Nicholas’s DNA found on the clothing and body of the deceased Bishop Vincent Fisher. How did that come about? It was something that Rizzo would have to discover. His next thought was more alarming. For some time now, rumours of a deeply reactionary clique of priests, bishops and even cardinals, were escalating. This group was supposedly being fermented by no less than Cardinal Nicholas, and that this ‘secret’ order was becoming increasingly militant. They were dedicated to countering any liberalism within the church.

He had known of this earlier and had confided his worries to Rizzo. It was being circulated that Cardinal Nicholas was planning a revolution in the Church. That they were attempting to form a church within a church – ultimately to overthrow the God-given authority of the Vatican itself.

The cardinal rumoured involvement was of no concern to the pope. These sorts of events had happened many times in the past and had come to nothing. He knew what various priests, bishops and cardinals were saying about him, their elected pope.

“He’s soft on the homosexuals, the lesbians, and the transsexuals.”

“How dare he criticize the Curia? Accusing us of spiritual Alzheimer’s just because his papacy is unravelling.”

That had shaken the pope’s confidence. It gave Rizzo’s DNA discovery added impetus. Was not the dead bishop an arch liberal and enemy of reactionary Catholicism? He had headed up the clandestine archaeology society, SOTA, which the pope himself had established. Now it was being suggested that Cardinal Nicholas, the very man he had appointed to continue the research, was the head of a militant group.

He had prayed this would not be so. Part of him suggested that he should relieve the cardinal of his role in the research, but he was still hoping the rumours were unfounded.

Underlying his suspicions were two reports he had received concerning the excavations in England. There was the cardinal’s report and that of Professor Christie. They did not match up. From the start, he had noticed that the cardinal’s reports were scanty on detail, dismissive, and made no mention of tunnels and the attempts to unravel the meanings behind the mysterious verses. Nor did it mention any of the Celtic stories and possible legends of Jesus having lived amongst them – the very reason for the project. The cardinal had also suggested that he thought such stories were planted to assist tourism in the area. He considered such stories were mainly superstition and make believe.

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