Carteret frowned reprovingly. "You told me yesterday it was an urgent matter. To me urgency means—well, urgency. My column for the Intelligencer can wait a few hours, I guess."
His voice was dramatically resonant. He flashed his famous smile.
Harker said, "Fair enough. I'm here seeking an ecclesiastical opinion."
"I'll do my best. You understand that any real opinion on a serious matter would have to come from the Bishop, not from me—and ultimately from Rome."
"I know that. I wouldn't want this to get to Rome just yet. I want a private, off-the-record statement from you."
"I'll try. Go ahead."
Harker took a deep breath. "Father, what's the official Church position on resurrection of the dead? Actual physical resurrection here and now, I mean, not the Last Trump."
Carteret's eyes twinkled. "Officially? Well, I've never heard Jesus being condemned for raising Lazarus. And on the third day after the crucifixion Jesus Himself was raised, if that's what you mean. I don't see—"
"Let me make myself clear," Harker said. "The resurrections of Jesus and of Lazarus both fall into the miracle category. Suppose—suppose a mortal being, a doctor, could take a man who had been dead eight or nine hours, or even a day, and bring him back to life."
Carteret looked momentarily troubled. "You speak hypothetically, of course." When Harker did not answer he went on, "Our doctrine holds that death occurs at the moment of 'complete and definitive separation of body and soul.' Presumably the process you discuss makes no provision for restoring the soul."