Althouse: The stolen heart: "It's completely bizarre."

March 3, 2012

The stolen heart: "It's completely bizarre."

"The thief would have needed metal cutters to prise open the iron bars protecting the wooden heart-shaped box holding St Laurence O'Toole's heart."

10 comments:

Tyrone Slothrop said...: This is a terrible crime. That people cared enough about this relic to maintain it for eight hundred years places it beyond value, no matter what your conception of Deity, or lack of it.

The is a psychopathology that causes its sufferers to burn down churches. I think this is something similar.; 3/3/12, 10:02 PM
edutcher said...: Why do I think of the Occupiers?

They trashed Westminster Abbey and tried, IIRC, to do the same to St Patrick's in Gotham.

Of course, it could be Wiccans, too.

WV "icalrt"; 3/3/12, 10:32 PM
traditionalguy said...: An enterprising televangelist could send small pieces of this relic heart to viewers in exchange for tax deductible donations. Think of the miracles!

Televangelists should watch for it on e-Bay and bid on it.; 3/3/12, 10:35 PM
Mark said...: DOCTOR!; 3/3/12, 11:44 PM
YoungHegelian said...: If this had happened in the good ole days, the relic would have been stolen by another church.

Now, Lord only knows.

What's really interesting is how this Catholic culture of bodily relics transferred over into European secular statecraft, eg Leon Gambetta's heart in the Pantheon in Paris.

I was once told by a French exchange student that if a memorial didn't have a piece of the guy in it, it wasn't a real memorial.; 3/3/12, 11:55 PM
Rob said...: Once again, Janis Joplin was ahead of her time.; 3/4/12, 1:29 AM
MDIJim said...: Fact is the English stole all of it 500 years ago when their king took over the church. To add insult to their injury the English made the Irish pay taxes to support their theft. Opposition to that policy gave the English language its longest word. Maybe Irish nationalists stole it back. If so, it is a lot better thing to do then kill people.; 3/4/12, 4:02 AM
Carnifex said...: No ones brought up "the DaVinci Code" yet?

Now days it could be any number of suspects from the Occupy crowd, to Wiccans, to the Muj, to the Church itself(to drum up enrollment).

I just have one question... Where was Crack on the night in question? He better have a good alibi. :-); 3/4/12, 5:48 AM
John Burgess said...: Why are Wiccans getting fingers pointed at them? After atheists, they're the group most unlikely to be interested.

Now, Satanists, on the other hand...; 3/4/12, 8:05 AM
Rusty said...: Somebody in Dublin is sobering up right now and wondering how Saint O'Toole's relic got at the foot of their bed.

(in my best Irish brogue)
Faither.Sure, Otool wainted ta return it himself, he did. but his heart wan't in it.; 3/4/12, 8:53 AM