Sacred items stolen from church {media report on Desecration of Holy Family Catholic Church)

SEWARD - Parishioners and clergy of Holy Family Catholic Church in Seward remain shocked and bewildered at the sacrilege perpetrated against their church.

On the night of March 10, someone entered the church and unbolted the tabernacle from the table behind the altar.

The thief unfastened the 18-inch bronze box from the wall and table and disappeared. Nothing else was taken.

Inside the tabernacle were two ciboria - vessels containing wafers of holy altar bread which, at the consecration of the Mass, Catholics consider the body of Christ. After Mass, the unused Eucharist, in the ciborium, is placed in the tabernacle.

The damage was discovered at 6:30 a.m. Friday when a volunteer sacristan was preparing the church for daily Mass.

"My first reaction was disbelief and then revulsion for such an act," said the Rev. John Wilt, pastor at Holy Family. "It is awful and people remain upset and puzzled at why such a thing would happen."

Wilt canceled the morning Mass and called state police, who took initial information and returned to dust for fingerprints.

"We have been told that, unless the person who did this is a convicted felon, the prints will not be very helpful," Wilt said.

The priest informed diocesan headquarters in Greensburg and was instructed that reparation had to be made for the desecration.

When such a desecration against the Blessed Sacrament is committed, Canon Law requires a special Rite of Purification and Mass of Forgiveness be performed, said Wilt.

Calls to the chancellor's office of the Greensburg Diocese were not returned Wednesday.

Word of the theft spread quickly through the congregation and reaction was swift.

With less than 24 hours notice, almost 300 parishioners packed the church for the special rite.

"We started by blessing holy water and splashing everything, including the people," Wilt said. "I was expecting only about 50 people on such a short notice, but the turnout and demonstration of faith was tremendous."

Gail Smyder, director of faith formation at Holy Family, called the service one of the most moving outpourings of faith she has ever witnessed.

"It's been a week and I still have a feeling of uneasiness and a tremendous sense of loss," said Smyder, who attended the rite of purification.

"The Scripture reading during that service focused on the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. We also prayed for the person or persons who committed this terrible act. While I still feel outrage because we treasure the Lord, this sense of uneasiness will take time to overcome."

The presence of Jesus within a tabernacle or church makes the setting sacred. Stealing the Sacrament or altar items for other, less-than-holy uses is a desecration.

Liz Fatula, 71, a Eucharistic minister and lifelong church member from Robindale Heights, called the theft a violation of the worst degree.

"This unspeakable act is a violation against our church member but also of the Blessed Sacrament," Fatula said. "The rite of purification brought tears to my eyes."

Some parishioners have voiced speculation of who could have committed such an act.

"Reasons ranged from people looking to fence the items to get drug money or even a Satan worshiper," Fatula said. "But it's difficult to say whether we will ever know. We had choir practice Tuesday evening and being there at night gave me a little pause."

Wilt said the vessels and tabernacle had little monetary value and would be difficult items to sell.

"Whoever did this was good with tools," Wilt said. "The thief was careful to move other items such as a plant and sanctuary lamp about two feet from the tabernacle and out of the way. I don't view this as being done by a Satanist because nothing else in the church was disturbed."

Seward church repurified after theft of Eucharist

Tuesday, March 15, 2005By Rebekah Scott, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Something evil happened at Holy Family Catholic Church in Seward last week.


	Post-Gazette

Overnight Thursday, someone broke in, climbed onto the altar, and unbolted the tabernacle from the front-and-center table. The thief ripped the 18-inch bronze box from the wall and disappeared into the dark. Nothing else was taken.

Inside were two ciboria, ritual dishes half-filled with wafers of holy altar bread. Catholics call it the Blessed Sacrament, and believe it's the body of Jesus Christ himself.

A volunteer discovered the damage at 6:30 a.m. Friday, when she arrived to prepare for the morning Mass. Word traveled fast.

"A holy place was desecrated," said the Rev. John Wilt, pastor at Holy Family. "It was so distressing, so awful. A Catholic church without the Blessed Sacrament ... the people were so upset, so sad."

"I felt like someone had died. I felt it physically," said Margory Cassidy, secretary at the church. "They tore up the wall, there was a mess strewn all over the floor."

But Wilt knew what to do. He canceled the Friday morning Mass and called the State Police, who dusted for fingerprints and took down statements. Then he called diocesan headquarters in Greensburg for instructions.

"Someone stole the Eucharist," said Chancellor Lawrence Persico. "Reparation had to be made for the desecration."

So at noon Saturday, almost 300 parishioners packed the church for a special Rite of Purification and Mass of Forgiveness, as required by Canon Law.

"We blessed the holy water, and we splashed the walls, seats, the people, everything," Wilt said. "I was expecting maybe 50 people at such a short notice. But the outpouring was tremendous. The people really sang out the music, and [scripture] reading was about the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. And we prayed for whoever committed this terrible, terrible act. ... It was so sad, really, like a loss, and we all were seeking comfort. There was nothing we could do about it but worship."

The presence of Jesus within a tabernacle or church makes the setting sacred. Stealing the Sacrament or altar items for other, less-than-holy uses is a definition of the word "sacrilege," a powerful expression of disrespect toward others' beliefs. Christianity and other religions create special rituals to cleanse violated places of the "spiritual stain" left behind when such crimes are committed.

Invading armies in medieval Europe were followed by priests who re-dedicated freshly pillaged churches and monasteries to God. Using a similar rite today, new buildings, ministers, altars, communion cups, Bibles, and prayer books are blessed before they're put to use, set aside for holy purposes.

Wilt wonders why the tabernacle was targeted. The vessels themselves aren't worth more than $3,000, the priest said, and items so obviously stolen would be difficult to fence.

"It was probably someone acting out against religion, against God," Persico said. "Who knows what they did with that Eucharist? It makes you feel violated."

Like many believers, the people at Holy Family found some redemption within their loss. By Sunday, Mass was back with borrowed altar fittings. Monday's 8 a.m. service saw twice its usual attendance.

(Rebekah Scott can be reached at 724-836-2655 or rscott@post-gazette.com.)

One positive thing in this is that they followed the rules about the purification rite. Maybe that is why it was allowed to happen. I do not know or presume to know, but the mind can't help but to seek answers about some things.

I would feel more comfortable in the catholic world if more churches were purified in such manner, because many questionable things have happened in them. I'm not speaking about little accidents concerning the blessed sacrament or honest mistakes, but services which sometimes seem to cross the line into sacrilege, premeditated, but now some American church leaders seem so confused, they truly may not know what they do, and I humbly submit that I am not qualified to judge how much is too much. This one was a no-brainer.

The only recourse ordinary people have are prayers of reparation.

There are probably deeper lessons in this I fail to grasp.

In the feeble attempts I've made to discuss some of this away from here, people scoff those are only man-made rules. That is true, but all who claim to be catholic, especially the clergy, should at least minmally submit to the rules. That has been my position for a long time.

If some of the rules have truly become too burdensome like our secular system has become, they ought to get them off the books.

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