On the lighter side…

by Mike

I thought I’d take a look at some of the more unusual stories from the last few days, some of which will hopefully provide a lighter side to the more recent dark topics discussed by me recently.

Firstly, it was announced that an 800 year old crucifix was discovered in an Austrian rubbish skip.

The gold plated crucifix, made of copper and enamel, was crafted in Limoges, France, and was part of a Polish art collection brought to Austria during Nazi rule. It was discovered in 2004 by a woman searching through her deceased neighbours discard possessions in the lakeside winter resort of Zell am.

The lady had a soft spot for old crockery and was rummaging for plates when she found the crucifix. She asked the deceased’s family, and they said she could have it.

Josef Holzberger, Salzburg Police Spokesperson

The woman in question showed it to a friend who felt that it may be something of substantial value and took it to a museum. Upon investigation it was found that the owners of the crucifix stored it and many other items inside the basement walls of a house in Warsaw before World War II.

In 1941 the Nazi’s discovered the crucifix and brought it to the Polish National Museum and later transferred to a castle in the Austrian village of Bruck an der Grossglocknerstrasse, near Zell am See. The crucifix may be worth something in the region of 400,000 Euros.

Meanwhile in Spain, members of a village parish went on hunger strike on Monday in protest at the transfer of their priest to another church.

The much loved Gabriel Castillo has caused such a stir in Albunol, in the southern province of Granada, that eighteen members of the community have refused to eat; while a total of 200 parishioners have locked themselves in the church in an attempt to put to a stop to the transfer.

Castillo is said to be popular because of the attention he pays to local issues such as hunger and poverty and how he seems to be so involved in the community.

The protesters feel that Castillo is being transferred because his views clash with a group of local nuns. The nuns are said to have been hearing mass in a nearby village since his arrival in the community.

Finally, a Dutch priest has been fined 5,000 euros for ringing his church bells too loudly in the morning.

The residents of Tilburg have been woken up, at seven in the morning, to the sound of the bells for the past six months and the council has decided that enough is enough.

The priest can ring his bells whenever he likes but he has to keep within noise regulations. People don’t appreciate it…We are still trying to find ways to make him stop

Tilburg Council spokesperson

The council have threatened to continue to fine the Catholic priest if he continues to defy the noise restrictions.

Friday, August 17th, 2007 and is filed under Views on News.