The following comes from a July 18 NBC4 article by Kim Baldonado and Olivia Niland:
Members of a Los Angeles church burglarized of several sacred items earlier this week asked Friday for the public’s help in finding those responsible for the theft.
Items including a large processional cross and a tabernacle were stolen from Santo Tomas Catholic Church on Pico Boulevard Wednesday night, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“It appears the suspects hid inside the church,” Captain Vito Palazzolo said. “Perhaps in the bell tower overnight, until the staff was gone and church was closed and removed these very sacred items.”
Detectives were in the process of reviewing security video from nearby businesses Friday and said that they, like Santo Tomas’ members, struggled to understand how anyone could steal from a church.
“It’s very saddening someone would be desperate enough to steal from a place of worship in order to make a few bucks,” Palazzolo said.
The items stolen were meaningful not only for religious reasons, members said, but also because they had replaced items lost in a 1999 fire that destroyed the church and everything in it.
Despite this adversity, Santo Tomas pastor Gerardo Galaviz instructed his congregation to practice forgiveness.
“These people may have broken into our house of prayer,” Galaviz said. “But they have not broken our spirit and our faith.”
The community has also come together to support the church, and one local business owner donated enough money for Santo Tomas to buy more than a dozen security cameras.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Detective David Nunez at 213-382-9440.
“It’s very saddening someone would be desperate enough to steal from a place of worship in order to make a few bucks,” Palazzolo said.
The specific objects taken have little retail value. I would think they were taken for the purposes of sacrilege. God help us!
And God help them as well, as they obviously need it. This is more than an affront, a crime, and an outrage; it is a sin, and regardless of what they happen to believe, a Day of Judgment awaits us all, including nonbelievers.
“Desperate enough?” As a police officer, Palazzoloft more than most ought to be aware of a drug jones (unnecessarily compounded exponentially by prohibition laws).
Sacrilege or retail value? Let’s face it, churches are easy pickin’s. Items are sold for their metals which are then melted down–silver, copper, lead, iron.
Oh, I almost left out the enduring value of the gold items. I’m not saying actor William Devane has been breaking into churches, but he does say Rosland Capital will beat any price, any time, no gimmicks. It must be true ’cause I hear it every commercial break.
“Desperate enough?” As a police officer, Palazzoloft more than most ought to be aware of a drug jones (unnecessarily compounded exponentially by prohibition laws).
Sacrilege or retail value? Let’s face it, churches are easy pickins. Items are sold for their metals which are then melted down–silver, copper, lead, iron.
Oh, I almost left out the enduring value of the gold items. I’m not saying actor William Devane has been breaking into churches, but he does say Rosland Capital will beat any price, any time, no gimmicks. It must be true ’cause I hear it every commercial break.
Installing burglar and fire alarms and security cameras is expensive, but a bargain compared to replacing stolen items and preventing arson. Suppose the thieves has also trashed the church, defiled it and started fires?
Report them as “hate crimes” as well as theft.
In addition, all Churches should have cameras in strategic locations to identify criminals.
No matter the value, sentimental or otherwise, the tabernacle containing the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar was stolen, and its sacred contents sacrilegiously discarded or otherwise abused. From the Catholic point of view, this is the true crime. The code of canon law mandates that the tabernacle be made of solid material and bolted down in order to prevent easy removal. As an added protection older tabernacles often had double doors which made easy access almost impossible. Unfortunately, the code of canon law is often ignored, resulting in many more instances of sacrilege against the Blessed Sacrament.
In my former parish, we installed a security system that was also connected to the Tabernacle, so anyone trying to desecrate the Blessed Sacrament would hear a series of VERY LOUD ALARMS going off, plus nice police officers coming in to arrest him.
Most parishes, sadly, can probably not afford this, but my old parish could and it was done because of attempts to break into the Tabernacle. One man did get arrested after the system was installed: the poor thing probably thought the tabernacle was made of “pure gold” and would bring a bundle of money.
As if you can sell such items on the street, like faux Rolex watches!!!
I still pray for that poor soul, but hope he has learned his lesson, especially about houses of worship.