Global Church Crime News 05/14/2023

(May 11) Thieves Blow Up Church Vaults With Explosives To Steal Parish Silver | ENGLAND

The 450-year-old Elizabethan chalice stolen from a locked vault at Lady St Mary’s Church in Wareham, Dorset – Lady St Mary’s Church/BNPS
A gang uses explosives to break into church vaults to steal parish silver.

The thieves are believed to have broken into four churches so far to take chalices, candlesticks, crucifixes and plates that had been safely stashed away.

In one raid, 25 communion silver pieces, including a 450-year-old Elizabethan chalice worth £30,000, were stolen from a safe in the vestry of Lady St Mary’s Church in Wareham, Dorset.

The burglars smashed a lead window to enter the Grade II listed 10th-century building and used angle grinders to break open heavy oak doors.

Read the full article click here

(May 11) Pastor Arrested For Keeping Anaemic Mother And Twin Babies At Church | GHANA

Health officials at the Tema Manhean Polyclinic has led the Police to arrest the pastor of the Elohim Life Church International, for keeping an anaemic mother and her newly born babies at the church premises.

Mr Joshua Agudah, Assembly member for Dade Agbo Electoral Area in the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, where the church is located, confirmed the incident to the Ghana News Agency, saying he uncovered the lady at the church after being informed about her condition.

Read the full article click here

(May 9) Gang That Stole Lead From Church Rooves Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison | ENGLAND

A trio of thieves who stole lead from the rooves of 40 churches across England have been jailed for more than 10 years after they caused more than £1 million worth of damage. They were caught by a church warden who spotted them driving away and followed them once he had alerted the police.

Following the arrest of the gang, a six-year investigation began. A total of 100 thefts and attempted thefts across 10 different counties and 40 churches were investigated. The three were convicted of lead theft from multiple churches. The offences all took place between April and November 2016 and caused £1.25 million in damage.

Read the full article click here

(May 9) 20 Worshipers Still Missing After Latest Church Attack In Nigeria

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says it's still searching for 20 people abducted by gunmen from a church during a Sunday service. CAN says gunmen invaded the church in a remote Kaduna state village and took more than 40 people but later let some go. Kaduna is among Nigerian states most affected by groups of armed bandits that frequently kidnap for ransom.

The Kaduna state chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria Tuesday said about 42 people were in the church on Sunday morning before the attackers invaded and took all the worshipers away, including women and children.

Read the full article click here

(May 9) Man Caught Stealing Items From Malaga Church And Hiding Them In A Child's Pushchair | SPAIN

A man allegedly used a child's pushchair to make off with sacred items allegedly stolen from the Santuario de la Victoria Catholic church in Malaga.

The man entered the open door to the parish church at around 10.30am on Wednesday, 3 May, and after checking there were no other people inside, tried to break into some cabinets to steal money.

While there was no one else inside the building at the time, a member of the church was watching the events unfold on a video surveillance camera and immediately alerted the National Police.

Read the full article click here