Leonardo da Vinci and the church

In the year 1492, Italy faced troublesome years ahead as the death of Lorenzo de Medici threw the nation's political system off balance and paved the way for an invasion by the French. That August in Rome, Rodrigo Borgia became Pope and Christopher Columbus put out to sea to set foot in the New World just over two months later. In April 1492, Lorenzo de Medici, the powerful and highly respected ruler of Leonardo's native Florence, lay dying. When lightening struck the cathedral dome, the extraordinary Dominican preacher, Girolamo Savonarola took it for an omen, thundering at his congregation ' Behold the sword of the Lord, swift and sure over the peoples of the earth ! ' and he warned the Florentines that terrible times lay ahead for the church and the state.

By 1527 Rome was ransacked by German troops, while Michelangelo worked for the Medici in Florence. Pope Clement VII was held prisoner and was soon to face another crisis - Henry VIII, desperate for a male heir, wanted to divorce his wife, and if the Pope refused his permission the dominion of the Catholic Church in England was at risk.

Against all this historical background, here we are in the year 2009. Now the Vatican is openly ackowledging extra-terrestrials beings associated with Jesus Christ ! The same church which squashed other religions in the New World as heathen.