Why doesn't the Vatican come out with their pieces of The True Cross and other reliqueries and cure AIDS and cancer through the name of God and their relics?
They have the mummified head of Thomas Aquinas locked away somewhere. That could be a cure for bird flu. God: Creature of dust. Stop wasting my photons with your foolishness. CK: Sorry God.
No-one whose foot fell off ever got it back. Miracles seem to have their limits, just as medicine does.
************* M*W: This is a damn good question. However, after having visited many shrines and reliqueries(sp), I have come to the conclusion that it is not the relics themselves that heal but the belief in these relics that do the job. Those folks that were "healed" would probably have regained their health anyway. There's a lot to be said for the "power of positive thinking."
Because if they put all the pieces of the cross together they would probably be a foot wide & stretch the length of Italy. Either that or on one of those cold wintry nights the Pope needed some wood for the fire.
They will never do that. Proof denies faith and faith is the basis of their power. If proof were shown then the need for their existence would cease. There is more value for them to make people believe they have proof.