The heirs of the Knight's Templar are suing the Pope to restore the reputation of the disgraced order which was accused of heresy and dissolved seven centuries ago.
The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ, whose members claim to be descended from the legendary crusaders, have filed a lawsuit against Benedict XVI calling for him to recognise the seizure of assets worth 100 billion euros (£79 billion).
They claim that when the order was dissolved by his predecessor Pope Clement V in 1307, more than 9,000 properties as well as countless pastures, mills and other commercial ventures belonging to the knights were appropriated by the church.
But their motive is not to reclaim damages only to restore the "good name" of the Knights Templar.
"We are not trying to cause the economic collapse of the Roman Catholic Church, but to illustrate to the court the magnitude of the plot against our Order," said a statement issued by the self-proclaimed modern day knights.
Link to original source
--Ok, I know I'm going to get hate for this one I'm sure - as it's still controversial by the many avid fundamentalists out there, but here is a brief history of the Knight's Templar I put together awhile back:
The Knights Templar started approximately around 1099 teamed with a group of Calabrian monks who'd established the Priory of Sion (aka group who held the knowledge of Jesus, Mary Magdelene, and the royal bloodline).
With thier newfound knowledge of Jesus and vague locations to find ancient religous artifacts, the Templars started digging beneath the Old Temple of Solomon site on the Temple Mount. After nine years of digging, the Templars found an interesting artifact: a type of journal enclosed in a gold box. The solid gold box was a treasure in itself, but the writings inside were even more valuable. They were somewhat autobiographical in nature, describing events, times, and places that the writer had experienced... a writer who was none other than Jesus Christ. This journal outlined all of Jesus' travels in India, Persia, and Egypt before his public ministry began, as well as many of the teachings he'd learned and then disseminated to his disciples. It also described his associations with the Essenes and Ebonites (of which Christ's brother, James, was purportedly a leader) and outlined the most startling information of all -- that he survived the Crucifixion and escaped to France!
It was Joseph of Arimathea who had buried the journal at the request of Jesus after he'd been in France for several years, for he knew that it would be discovered someday. Joseph also was the one who helped save Jesus from death and escape and settle in France with his wife Mary Magdelene and later... his children.
Anyhow, the Knights made a lot of copies of this journal and sent one to the Pope, and he in turn was very upset, but sent out his best scholars to verify the original document_ After the Pope's experts return back to Rome the Knights Templar begin to accumulate great wealth from their skills in construction and banking. The Pope gave his official approval of the group in 1139, and the knights were granted land, castles, and economic support. Was this blackmail on the part of the Knights Templar or just a prudent stand taken by the Catholic Church? It was a little bit of both. With the Knights knowledge and rising power there wasn't much the Pope could do anyhow....
Not until a Friday on October 13, 1307... King "Philip the Fair" - named not for his just ways, but rather after his good looks - was very envious of the Templars wealth so he ordered the arrest of the Templars on charges of heresy. Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar at the time and 60 others were captured and imprisoned in Paris, along with 15,000 members in other areas of France. And all of their documents and artifacts were confiscated. For the next several years the captured Templars were tortured unmercifully with hot irons and burned at the stake.
It seems almost too coincidental that every time some individual or group came close to finding out the truth about Jesus in those days, they were branded as heretics and killed.
Was it the end? Well, many of the surviving Templars were assimilated into other orders, while some went into different secret societies, and others actually became pirates (hence, the skull and crossbones symbol once adorned by the knights). It is still said today that many artifacts and documents pertaining to the truth about Jesus Christ, including the above journal, is still located inside the very walls of the Vatican...
Best-selling author, Dan Brown, has just touched the tip of the iceberg with even discussing these such topics (whether fiction or not, it is based on true events and extensive research). And I believe much more is going to come into the light and public eye very soon through the discovery of religious relics that have yet to be found...
Recommended Reading:
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln -- this book, I know, is controversial to some people, however, despite the criticism these authors have received most of them have been misunderstandings. These guys have done their research - 10 years worth. Any forged documents by 'Pierre Plantard' is MOOT, because there sources were based mostly other resources such as interviewing certain priets who admitted most of the things discussed in this book, but told authors something like 'but we're not supposed to talk about it'. (I'll list specific source here when I find it) This book discusses Mary Magdelene and Jesus being married and having seven children. Also goes over Jesus not dying on the cross at the crucifixion but moving to France as well as more information regarding the Knights Templar.
Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
Table of Contents
