Chapter 17

17
MONASTERY OF ST. ENGULPIUS, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

In was far more exciting than a usual day for Cardinal Guerros. He held the cachet in his lap as he waited patiently to arrive at his destination. This was the cachet handed to him for personal delivery by the Papal Nuncio in Rio De Janiero. It held the crest of Pope Paul Jacob I and was sealed with the wax signet of the Vatican. He was instructed to open the cachet and follow the instructions, contained within it once he was in the Monastery of St. Engulpius.

Up ahead he could see the startling white of the monastery's main building, set among vineyards and tilled fields in the lush green of the mountains. St. Engulpius was uniquely equipped to accept the servants of the Church for all types of causes, alcoholism, pedophilia and other undesirable traits which could develop in the career of a priest or bishop or, for that matter a Cardinal. It was a refuge for these weak souls, offering isolation along with spiritual and psychiatric rehabilitation even though few of its wards ever walked the streets again.

Within its closed confines a priest lay dying. At the end of his life he had demanded to be freed of a certain confession he had taken upon himself from a wealthy patron of the Church in Brazil. Just now, this Father Riaz had begged for and received the Dispensation he sought so urgently, a rare Papal Dispensation, lifting the vow of secrecy the Father had taken in preparation for his ministry.

The Monastery had sent a friendly and respectful delegation of monks to meet the helicopter. It had not sent a car. Cardinal Guerros and his aide were hot and thirsty by the time they had walked up to the main building.

Once inside, the head of the monastery greeted them. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Cardinal. Time now is very short for Father Riaz, and I believe that we must go to him immediately." The man headed off down a hallway with several other monks. "Please. This way, if you please Cardinal."

"Father Riaz has been an unusual resident during his stay here, Cardinal. He seems to be so oppressed by the content of this particular confession that he can no longer bear to hold it in his heart. At first he was simply quiet and solitary, but as the years passed he fell into uncontrolled episodes of crying and wailing. His complaint was always the same. He was tormented by this knowledge within him. I have to say that I myself cannot avoid my own curiosity." The Master Brother rattled on as they turned into yet another hallway.

"Then His Emminence has granted the Dispensation simply to soothe the man's mind before his death, is this what has happened? Am I here on an errand of grand Papal compassion?" The Cardinal asked.

"Perhaps that is all there is to it, but several factors suggest otherwise. For one, the confession was given to Father Riaz by none other than Senor Robeles on his death bed. Here we are." The monk opened the door to a hospital type room. The Cardinal noted a sturdy lock as he entered the room.

The man on the bed was sick indeed, yet he still carried a surprising wildness in his eyes and expression. He knew without being told that his deliverance had arrived. He stared at the Papal Cachet, and spoke with a trembling voice. "Open it, Senor Cardinal. Open it quickly."

The Cardinal slid his thumb under the wax seal and lifted the flap of the packet. He withdrew the official letter from the Vatican and handed it to the old Priest. Riaz held it close to his face long enough to see the signature of the Holy Father. The instructions to the Cardinal were written on a slip of paper only two or three inches long. He sent his aide out of the room and pulled the door closed.

"I, Cardinal Guerros, hereby swear on my own salvation through Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Eternal Church not to reveal any part of what I am now to hear until I receive instructions from the Holy Father." Turning to the senior monk at his left, he asked him "Do you also swear this?"

"I do so willingly. Please, let us bring the final comfort to this tortured man of the Church." The monk helped Riaz take a little water as he spoke.

The two of them pulled up chairs and prepared themselves to listen to Father Riaz's last confession.

He spoke in an uncertain voice, but his words were clear and his train of thought was strong. "Robeles caused the discovery of the tomb. He found the scrolls. He was saddened because he had no son, but he had a bold plan and lots of money. I won't disclose his sins of murder and other crimes. Time is too short. But what he has done is far more the sacrilege." Riaz hesitated here, coughing for a moment.

"The truth must be given to the world. The Church must be warned for Her own safety. Robeles cloned the Savior from a bit of the Body. His own laboratory did the work, then a peasant woman was impregnated with the Embryo they made. The Child was born and lives even today in hiding on a secret island off Amapa, on the island of Paraneho. More than this I can only guess, but the Man they created is Jesus Christ. He is in His twenties, healthy and quite human. He lives on that island as we speak."

"Father Riaz! Is the Man aware of Himself? Do you know what He intends to do?" The Cardinal asked. The Monk was unable to speak at all.

Father Riaz looked up at the two of them from his bed. His face was calm and he knew peace at last. He died gently and received his Extreme Unction from a trembling Cardinal. The Father had ended his lifetime with twenty minutes of wordless rest, the silent haven of a dying man with a peaceful soul.