THE BONES OF ST. PETER The new Pope Francis recently displayed the alleged "bones of Saint Peter" at a mass held in Rome to a crowd of thousands, symbolizing for Catholics the presence of the apostle they claim as the first pope in Rome. A Catholic publication declared that "For those who do not yet believe, the bones will ... draw even skeptics to consider the claims of Christianity. In so doing, they will open them toward the God who loves them ..." But are the bones real? Or do they represent a long line of forged and faked relics the papacy is notorious for throughout the pages of history?