A Satanic sect is among the suspects after a reliquary containing blood of the late Pope John Paul II was stolen from a remote church in Italy’s Apennine Mountains.
A region-wide manhunt involving fifty policemen and sniffer dogs was launched after the gold reliquary and a cross were declared missing at the San Pietro della Ienca church near L’Aquila on Sunday.
“This period of the year is important in the Satanic calendar and culminates in the Satanic ‘new year’ on Feb 1,” commented Giovanni Panunzio, who heads Italian anti-occult group Osservatorio Antiplagio, in an interview with the UK’s Daily Telegraph.
“This sort of sacrilege often takes place at this time of the year. “We hope that the stolen items are recovered as quickly as possible.”