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March 4th, 2012
11:18 AM ET
900-year-old saint's heart vanishes from cathedralBy Richard Allen Greene and Peter Taggart, CNN Police in Ireland are studying security camera footage from a cathedral in Dublin after the preserved heart of the city's patron saint was stolen over the weekend, they said Monday. The 900-year-old heart of St. Laurence O'Toole was taken from the iron cage where it is normally kept in Christ Church Cathedral, police and the Cathedral said. The bars were wrenched open, allowing access to the heart-shaped wooden box that held the relic bolted to a wall in Saint Lauds Chapel, Irish police said. Security cameras cover the cathedral's welcome desk, but not the interior of the chapel or the cathedral, police said. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Cathedral staff called the disappearance of the relic "truly awful and strange" and said they were "shocked and saddened."  An empty cage once held the heart of 900-year-old saint. Adding to the mystery, there was no sign of a break-in, police told CNN. Nothing was taken from the chapel other than the heart, although Irish media said gold candesticks and other valuables were there. Cathedral staff called the disappearance of the relic "truly awful and strange" and said they were "shocked and saddened." St. Laurence O'Toole, an archbishop of Dublin in the 12th century, was born in 1128, lived until 1180, and was made a saint in 1225, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Christ Church is a Protestant Church of Ireland cathedral. Catholics often preserve body parts from saints, believing they should be venerated. When Pope John Paul II was declared "blessed" - a step below sainthood - last year, a vial of his blood was displayed as a relic.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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I fairly certain Norm is,nor was, a puppy. Were he, he'd be speaking of kibble and bits, rather than the spiritual.
@irishcat and catholic engineer.
I will tell you this..The Church and its rituals do not offend me. At one point I was devout in my beliefs.I attended Divinity School,was ordained,then left the Priesthood the next day. I realized that rituals and symbols is not what God is all about. Religion is not about carving up our dead, it's about our personal relationship with God. When you have walked in my shoes,then you may pass judgement on me.
Baptism is a ritual and Jesus said you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God without it – seems there are some important rituals we cannot lay aside. Other than that, there is nothing greater than building a personal relationship with God.
I'm not passing judgement on you, Doctor. Actually, I've almost been in your shoes. I was an atheist. Thought I was real rational, you know. Then, I discovered how inadequate human reason can be.
It was the Tinman. Sources indicate he may have had accomplices. Fiber analysis shows traces of straw and feline hair at the scene of the crime.
LOL! ...and Dorothy drove the get-away car!
I wonder of the thieves realize that Valentine's was last month, now they're going to have to hold on to that thing for a year before they use it for the most fitting/creepiest Valentine's day gift ever.
I doubt they will put up with the stink for that long! LOL!
God works in mysterious ways.....Watch the news for other ""Strange" events concerning relics of the saints.
Goodbye...
Keeping body parts is not cool. The last one that did it was a serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer!
It was either Rick Santorum or Newt Gringrich who stole the reclic to have extra good luck tomorrow on Super Tuesday.
What's truly strange is mounting a mummified bit of a dead body in a box on the wall. A bit macabre, actually...
There is a saint in spain in which her whole body is preserved.. it has not decayed in 500 years and is still soft
to the touch. Expect this saint to also disappear...
There must have been some treasure related to this and it was part of a clue! Totally like DaVinci code or something...
scavenger hunt misunderstanding
Maybe it bent open the bars and fled in shame at what the Catholic Church has become.
I read that someone dug up Napoleon and stole his penis.
On breaking the bars.... please lookup how angels freed St-Paul by breaking the shackles he was in and
breaking the LOCK of the prison gate he was imprisoned in. If you have eyes.....see!
Yes, use one nonsensical story to explain another lol. "How do you know the bible is right?" " Because it says so in the Bible, duh!"
norm, it's just too bad someone broke your shackles and is allowing you to type up this drivel
Youhave eyes but you do NOT see.
you have a mind but "god" won't let you use it
I don;t think the problem is "not seeing"...I think the problem is SEEING thing that aren't really there lol
I've known quite a few "sane" people who have their relatives remains cremated, then keep the ashes in an urn around the house for years.
The real sick part is that the church will pursue this theft with zeal utilizing the police, having ignored and covering up the r.pe of hundreds of thousands of children. Far greater value is put upon some dried up 900 year old organ. The safety of children is of no concern. And all the sickos who are parisioners of this cult are equally to blame.
Churches don't pay taxes...they should have no access to using our public services
Maybe he wanted his heart back?
Keeping pieces of the dead is an ancient bit of foolishness that persists today and should end entirely. Could you imagine keeping a few pieces of Pope John Paul II at various churches around the world? I would imagine that no one in today's Catholic Church would want that to happen and yet so many are completely fine with keeping bits of bodies of the long departed around. It's been a sick all along to do this and the Church needs to call it what it truly is: idolatry.
Maybe someone is giving that heart a decent burial. There are ghouls for keeping that thing. Relics are ghoulish.
awwww christ, who the hell would steal that?
Heart transplant waiting lists are long. Some people on it get desperate 😉
Brother Andre heart in Montreal was displayed for over 50 years, until it also disappeared in 2011. Never returned.
For those who can see...watch for more mystery of the kind.
You're a sick puppy Norm. I hope you get some help for your delusions.
Perhaps some nut has plans to Frankenstien the parts and try to bring them back to life – who knows?
@norm
I take it you're implying that the End Times are upon us.
I'll keep my eye out for 7 headed dragons spewing torrents of water.