What I have just explained does not mean to justify the tendency to ignore scientific research. (4). Usually people who get close to the Shroud become sensitive and interested to the studies made on it. It is a mysterious and interesting find, and it inspires many questions about its origins and about the secrets of the nature of its image. The subject we are dealing with is extremely important for many. There is in fact the possibility that this linen came to us as a mute witness of Jesus’ grief and death. Jesus is and will always be, the most loved man in history. His destiny was a struggling and upsetting event. The thought that the Shroud might have touched Jesus’ body, can not bring Him back to us, but it keeps our love vivid and makes us want to know about the probability that the sheet is really what it is thought to be.
Scientific researches have to be pursued, both for the dignity of human mind, which is called to investigate problematic experiences, and for human heart, that is always interested in everything that involves a loved one. Research is not over yet, and we do not even know if it will ever be. So how could we define in this context a relation between the man and the Shroud today? How was this relation before the beginning of modern researches? Was it possible at all a relation with the Shroud before the pictures taken by Secondo Pia, the real starting point of "sindonology"?(5)If we think that a relation with the Shroud needs a scientific preparation and it depends on scientific results, we must agree that before the XX cent. a legitimate relation to the Shroud was not possible. Perhaps for many people this is impossible still nowadays. There are tendencies, in today’s discussions that seem to agree with this. Both those who think the Shroud should not be taken into consideration either by believers or atheists of today, and those who believe, on the contrary, that the Shroud is worthwhile for the man of today , base their opinion on the issue of scientific studies. The first group of people states that researches demonstrated that the Shroud does not date back to Jesus’ times and did not wrap Jesus’ body. The others say that science has proved the Shroud to be real, so a relation with it is legitimate and recommendable.
Both positions rely on science. There are also some people who do not want to take part in the discussions and simply try to ignore scientific research. They rely on intuition and feelings and they say: - whatever science said I feel the Shroud is "true", that linen really wrapped Jesus’ body. It is inevitable, even though it might look presumptuous, to state that neither of these positions is correct. First of all, even if science should demonstrate that the Shroud does not date back to Jesus’ time, we could still consider it as a real help for believers. In fact, the idea that the Shroud can be considered important for believers does not originate from any scientific demonstration. Finally, although we can trust our intuitions, we have the right to search for a most authoritative and scientific verdict.