"Ever?"
Carteret smiled. "Jim, it's a verity that the Church is founded on a Rock, but that doesn't mean our heads are made of stone. No organization lasts two thousand years without being susceptible to change. If in the course of time we're shown that a reanimation technique restores both body and soul, no doubt we'll give it approval. At present, though, I can foresee only one outcome."
Harker knotted his fingers together tensely. The priest's response had not been a surprise to him, but he had hoped for some wild loophole. If any loophole existed, Carteret would have found it.
Quietly he said, "All right, Father. I'll put my cards on the table now. Such a process has been invented. I've seen it work. I've been retained as legal adviser for the group that developed it, and I'm shopping around for religious and secular opinions before I let them spring the news on the public."
"You want my secular opinion, Jim, now that you've had the religious one?"
"Of course."
"Drop it. Get out of this thing as fast as you can. You're asking for trouble."
"I know that. But I can only see this process as a force for good—for minimizing tragedy in everyday life."
"Naturally. And I could offer you six arguments showing how it'll increase suffering. Is it a complex technique requiring skilled operators?"
"Yes, but—"