Hmmm…looks like people trying to make a media splash, because I believe just about anyone with credentials can request access to the archives and get it. There is this lingering myth that the ‘Secret Archives’ contain things like the Scripture with the word “Suckers!” at the end, and twelve affadavidts from the 12 apostles saying they hid the body.
*The Vatican has made extraordinary efforts to open some document sections in advance in recent years - only to find that very few scholars bother to examine the material.
“It’s strange. It seems that if they can’t find confirmation of their predetermined but undocumented theories, the archives can be forgotten,” said Father Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives.*
Maybe the Vatican should change the name from “The Secret Archives” to “The Boring Archives.” That way, nobody but the most dedicated researchers would be interested in getting access.
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