The Body

Okay, log that.

What piece of evidence finally convinced you...

that the body found at Giva'at Ha Mivtarwas crucified?

Well, I suppose if you're looking for a dead giveaway...

I'd really have to say it was the block of wood and nail in the foot...

that really did the trick.

And the Romans were crucifying bodies for around 400 years.

Why have we only found one set of remains?

Well, only the lower rungs of society were crucified.

Then their remains were burned...

or fed to the dogs.

-Doctor, I really need a cigarette. -Then we must go outside.

Thank you.

So, it's unlikely that you'd find a crucified man in a rich man's tomb?

Highly unlikely.

Not to mention potentially catastrophic.

Catastrophic?

The only recorded crucified body in a rich man's tomb was that of...

Rabbi Yeshu Ben Yosef...

known to all of us if not by his Hebrew name...

then surely by his Greek one...

Jesus, son of Joseph.

Sharon! Sharon!

They're here.

-What are all these people doing here? -Dr. Golban?

Moshe Cohen, Deputy Attache to Jerusalem.

-For your protection, I assure you. -Yeah, right.

-Now, may we have a look? -No.

I can't have amateurs trampling through the dig. You'll break something.

Okay. What about a professional?

A priest has no place on an excavation. Do I make my self clear?

Dr. Golban, Pierre Lavelle.

Dr. Lavelle, I am so sorry. I had no idea you were a priest.

I am an archaeologist.

-After you, Doctor. -Thank you.

All I wanted to do was dig a basement.

They wanted to put up fats in about 3 months, so we had to be quick.

Until we remove the body, we're keeping a low profile in security.

Disturbing the dead can get you killed in this neighborhood.

Father Gutierrez.

Your Eminence.

Not many of our priests are ex-combat soldiers.

El Salvador was a long time ago, Your Eminence.

Military intelligence.

A polite oxymoron.

You have been chosen to investigate a problem for us in Jerusalem.

One that will require the wide range of your investigative abilities.

"Dr. Sharon Golban."

An Israeli archaeologist. It was she who opened the tomb in Jerusalem.

Those are photos of what she found.

This is of Pontius Pilate.

So I've been told.

Excuse me, Your Eminence, but this has to be a joke.

A dangerous one, which is why we have chosen you to investigate it.

Yeah, but who would believe this?

It reads like tabloid journalism...

not a serious archaeological report.

Dr. Golban is a serious archaeologist.

So is Fr. Lavelle.

He's a Dominican in Jerusalem.

Lectures at their university.

What is his opinion about this?

There are many tests to be conducted.

But he has seen the tomb...

and the body.

So he thinks...

it is possible?

But Your Eminence...

I have no qualifications for something like this.

That is not true.

You have told us why in your own words.

"I believe Jesus Christ is God because I spoke to Him this morning...

in my prayers.

And I've known He was God since I was a boy.

He has always been my best friend...

even though I haven't always been His.

In Him, I have peace."

You were called because of your military and investigative experience.

You were chosen because of what you wrote here.

The ideal solution is to stop rumors and lies at their inception.

If not, a Vatican denial would be interrupted by some...

as merely the Vatican covering up the truth.

We must stop this before it lets loose its poison.

We are counting on you to protect the Church.

Protect the faith.

They're synonymous. Protect the Church, you protect the faith.

Your Eminence, what if the body they found--

There is no "what if," Father.

This is not the body of Christ.

I understand.

Matt Gutierrez?

-That's you? -That's me.

Sharon Golban, right?

-Is this your bag? -Yes.

-I'll carry it. -Short trip, huh?

Before you get us killed, I think there is something I'd better clear up.

-I am not an archaeologist. -What?

The road, please. Just look at the road.

I'm looking at the road. You have a doctorate, don't you?

In Roman history.

Anything relevant? Anything useful?

Well, theology.

So, what are you, a priest?

Yes, I'm a priest. A priest who is about to give him self the last rites.

So, you're a priest who's not an archaeologist...

sent by the Vatican to investigate an archaeological dig...

that is going to fuck up the Church for the rest of time...

and I'm expected to believe that you don't have an agenda?

I have no expectations of you other than keeping your eyes on the road.

-Please. -Well, I have been ordered...

to obey your every command.

Ordered? By whom?

Deputy Attache to Jerusalem, Moshe Cohen.

-You guys should get along well. -Hey, what are you doing?

Know this. I am not gonna lie for you.

Why would I ask you to lie?

'Cause my archaeological facts will conflict with your religious beliefs.

Don't you forget that. Are you trying to get us killed?

I thought that was your job.

Listen, I'm--

I'm sorry I came down on you so hard.

No, you're not. That's okay.

What I would really like is some sympathy...

for scaring me half to death with your driving.

You better get used to it. All Israelis drive like this.

Then all Palestinians have to do is give you faster cars...

and wait for the inevitable.

-I'll pick you up at 6:00. -11:00.

-Time to unpack your bags? -11:00.

You must be Patch's nephew.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets an advance like this.

Not even for the second coming.

Oh, and this arrived for you about an hour ago from Tel Aviv.

Looks important.

You're here for the pope.

Actually, I am the pope's nephew.

-It's Jerusalem, isn't it? -May I see my room now, please?

Pope's nephew, eh? Saint Peter's suite.

This way.

-What is your name, Father? -Winstead.

Is Fr. Lavelle in his room?

Yes, he is. It's up the stairs to the left and across the bridge.

Ignoring warnings of armed intervention by the Israelis...

the Palestinian National Authority announced today...

that it will declare East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine.

Raising the specter of a biblical Armageddon...

Christian fundamentalists predict the destruction...

of their most holy shrines...

if the Via Dolorosa should come under Palestinian rule.

This is John Jays reporting live from Jerusalem.

I don't have any money.

I don't want your money.

Just drive.

Fr. Lavelle?

Father, I am Matt Gutierrez.

Oh, so you are the chosen one.

Yes, the chosen one.

Does that disturb you in some way?

In the hierarchy of my pain, Father, that is hardly a novitiate.

I have a few questions, if you don't mind.

All right.

Let me see what we have in here.

So, Father, when you entered the tomb...

you believed in the resurrection.

When you left, you did not.

What was it, ten minutes, half an hour? How long were you there?

No, no, no, it was not that I-- I didn't believe.

It was that I realized it was possible that I didn't believe.

The oxidation on the wrists and the legs.

A crucifixion in a rich man's tomb.

I know, but Romans gave out crucifixions like parking tickets.

Yeah, but never rich people. Only criminals or political enemies.

"There came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph.

And Joseph took the body of Jesus and laid it in his own new tomb...

hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the entrance."

And that is a picture of a rich man's tomb.

But...

so then I understand no firm date has been established...

for the body or the tomb, correct?

You're forgetting the coin she found. It was a Pilatus.

Father, isn't it possible the body in the tomb is that of a Christian?

I mean, a follower of \Christ and not Christ himself?

Yes, it is possible. In that case, it would have been buried...

with some Christian symbol to illustrate the fact.

If ot in the open, then hidden...

on the inside of the ossuary or at the bottom of a jar you would have found...

three concentric circles...

or an antique cross...

or a fish.

So...

it was Dr. Golban who asked you to come to the tomb, correct?

It was Moshe Cohen from the prime minister's office.

Did he call others? Did he call Armenians...?

Orthodox, Protestants?

Why did he call you, Father?

What is all this? Am I supposed to doubt them because they are Jews?

Father, I understand that you are in great pain.

But you have to let me carry this now. This is mine.

The Holy Father has given it to me. I don't like it, but I have to take it.

But why are you asking me all these questions?