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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As some of you know, my apologetics area is
Adventism, and along the way I've had some dealings with Adventist Prof Samuele
Bacchiocchi, the first and only non-Catholic to graduate from Gregorian
University in Rome. His book, "From Sabbath to Sunday", is very
influential in Sabbath-keeping circles, which are largely quite actively
anti-Catholic. It is based on his PhD dissertation at Gregorian. It
looks like he's in for some trouble now, after investigations I (very
persistently) asked for (and if it were not for Art Kelly, I would never
have thought to ask these questions) resulted in a letter being sent from
Gregorian University to the USCCB to clarify the issue, and that info has now
started spreading in the apologetics/Adventist world. Which is good news
as far as the Sabbatarian attack on Catholicism (and Sunday observance in
general) goes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bacchiocchi claims the following for his degree and
thesis:</FONT></DIV>
<UL>
<LI style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT face=Arial size=2>He claims to have
obtained his PhD summa cum laude from the Gregorian University in Rome </FONT>
<LI style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT face=Arial size=2>He claims that the
Gregorian University Press printed the first edition of his thesis </FONT>
<LI style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT face=Arial size=2>He claims to have been
given an imprimatur for that printing </FONT>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>He claims to have received a silver and gold medal
from Pope Paul VI</FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>These claims can be found on his website on the
</FONT><A href="http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/sabbath_to_sunday/"
target=_blank><FONT face=Arial color=#3300cc size=2>From Sabbath to
Sunday</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> page, and on the </FONT><A
href="http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/author/" target=_blank><FONT
face=Arial color=#3300cc size=2>About Author</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2>
page.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Not so many people familiar with Bacchiocchi know
that the Gregorian University seems to deny this:</FONT></P>
<UL>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>No summa cum laude </FONT>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>No printing of the full thesis, rather only one
chapter - the minimum requirement </FONT>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>No imprimatur </FONT>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>No medals</FONT></LI></UL>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Other blogs have now taken up the topic of Samuele
Bacchiocchi's credentials and the allegations that they are not what he says
they are.</DIV>
<P>So, in total, there are now 5 blogs that are covering this topic.
Including the blog belonging to <A href="http://www.spectrummagazine.org/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Spectrum Magazine</FONT></A>, which is a
well-known publication in Adventist circles. The posts, some with a lot of
comments/discussion, are very interesting.</P>
<P>The blog postings I've found so far are:</P>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://xcg.kingary.net/2006/05/05/bacchiocchis-gregorian-controversy"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Bacchiocchi's "Gregorian
Controversy"</FONT></A> [on the <A href="http://xcg.kingary.net/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>XCG</FONT></A> blog*]
<LI><A
href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/200/Bacchiocchis-thesis--the-Gregorian-Controversy"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Bacchiocchi's thesis - the Gregorian
Controversy</FONT></A> [on my <A href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Sabbath Keepers</FONT></A> blog**]
<LI><A
href="http://h0bbes.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/bacchiocchis-sabbath-to-sunday/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Bacchiocchi's Sabbath to Sunday</FONT></A>
[on the <A href="http://h0bbes.wordpress.com/" target=_blank><FONT
color=#3300cc>Hobbes' Place</FONT></A> blog***]
<LI><A
href="http://spectrummagazine.typepad.com/the_spectrum_blog/2006/10/is_bacchiocchi_.html"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Is Bacchiocchi Misrepresenting
Himself?</FONT></A> [on the <A href="http://spectrummagazine.typepad.com/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Spectrum Magazine</FONT></A> blog***]
<LI><A
href="http://trevanosborn.blogspot.com/2006/10/national-enquirer-adventist-edition.html"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>National Enquirer: Adventist
Edition</FONT></A> [on <A href="http://trevanosborn.blogspot.com/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Trevan Osborn's Divergence</FONT></A>
blog***]
<LI><A
href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/276/Allegations-regarding-Bacchiocchis-dissertation"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Allegations regarding Bacchiocchi's
dissertation</FONT></A> [on my <A href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/"
target=_blank><FONT color=#3300cc>Sabbath Keepers</FONT></A> blog**]</LI></UL>
<DIV>* Catholic author on ex-Worldwide Church of God blog</DIV>
<DIV>** Catholic blog (my blog)</DIV>
<DIV>*** Adventist blogs</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The relevant links on my blog (in sequence) are:</DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/200/Bacchiocchis-thesis--the-Gregorian-Controversy">http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/200/Bacchiocchis-thesis--the-Gregorian-Controversy</A></DIV>
<DIV><U><FONT color=#800080><A
href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/276/Allegations-regarding-Bacchiocchis-dissertation">http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/276/Allegations-regarding-Bacchiocchis-dissertation</A></FONT></U></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/280/Bacchiocchis-current-crisis">http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog/post/index/280/Bacchiocchis-current-crisis</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>God bless,</DIV>
<DIV>Stephen</DIV>
<DIV>--<BR>Stephen Korsman<BR><A
href="mailto:skorsman@theotokos.co.za">skorsman@theotokos.co.za</A><BR><A
href="http://www.theotokos.co.za">www.theotokos.co.za</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>IC | XC<BR>---------<BR>NI | KA<BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>