John Samuel Ricci, 33, of Connecticut was arrested in Jensen Beach, Florida after trying to steal communion wafers during a church service St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church.
Ricci was corned by practitioners who recovered the sacred wafers.
Despite the fact that Roman Catholics believe that this is the actual body of Christ, he was charged with theft and disruption rather than attempted kidnapping. The cops must have been protestants.
When I went to Quigley North Preparatory Seminary in Chicago (the last such school in the country), I had a friend who tried to make a theological point by sitting in front of an older priest’s office and munching on communion wafers. He point was to show that, absent consecration in the Eucharist, these wafers are mere bread. The point was lost on the priest and my friend was sent into deep detention.
What is fascinating about this charge is the value placed on the wafers, which appear to have already been consecrated. As the body of Christ, they are priceless to Catholics. The value can play a role in the level of theft charged under misdemeanor and felony provisions.
It also creates a certain overlap in the message of Matthew 22:21: Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. Ricci has a lot of rendering to do.
For the article, click here.
The kidnapping questions is kind of a twist on an envatted brain thought experiment.
Say your brain is removed from your body and placed in a vat. And you experience your consciousness from your new home in the vat (say it’s hooked up to sensors and feedback systems with I/O). If someone comes and takes your body, without your permission, but leaves your brain right where it is there in the vat, does this someone risk kidnapping charges?
Also, can I consecrate all of my possessions and then claim that they are priceless to the insurance company if my house burns down and everything is lost?
JT:
Very sad that a such venerable school perished for lack of priests whose training was the very reason for its existence. In my youth, I had a parish priest who attended there and he always spoke in such glowing terms. One thing I do recall was his insistence that the good fathers were known to read the Congressional Record in their spare time. That must be an exageration but it certainly pointed up the degree of scholarship and dedication of these men. I have my differences with the Church, but I never denigrate the teaching mission of that Institution (of which I am a beneficiary) nor the earnestness of those who did the heavy lifting for little compensation save the satisfaction of seeing their results. Seeing this along with many other Catholic school closings somehow makes me feel old.
Mark
If he had taken them across state lines, would it have been kidnapping? Just a thought.
Mespo:
I was crest-fallen with the closure of Quigley North, which was one of the city’s oldest and most beautiful high schools. With the massive legal damages paid by the church and shortage of priests, there are closures across the country of such schools and churches. However, Quigley was unique and many were shocked by the closure. The fact is that the school did not turn out a significant number of priests. However, it was a landmark for the city and the Church. My brother graduated from there and I went there for two years before heading off to Washington to serve as a House page.
Best,
Jonathan
Despite my RC upbringing I am more interested in the reason for the demise of Quigley North Preparatory Seminary. I understood that it was a viable Catholic high school located near Loyola. I am very surprised that this hoary institution is no more.
Yikes! I will have to find my old St. Christopher medal to protect me!
Yes there is rafflaw. In vino, mortis! I wouldn’t go golfing in a thunderstorm if I were you.
I have to admit that myself and other altar boys, snuck out church wine and wafers at our Catholic Church in Skokie, much to the chagrin of the Pastor. The earth did not open up and to the best of my memory, none of us were struck down by lightning.(not yet) Prof. Turley, I realize the religious value of the consecrated hosts, but how can that be translated into a secular value for criminal violation purposes? As far as the secular law is concerned, aren’t they just bread? Notwithstanding what Catholics believe, the rest of the world considers them bad tasting bread. By the way, is there a Canon Law statute of limitations for sneaking drinks of the church wine?
“Despite the fact that Roman Catholics believe that this is the actual body of Christ, he was charged with theft and disruption rather than attempted kidnapping. The cops must have been protestants.”
Oh my.
Am I going to hell for laughing at that?
WHY was he stealing them? Hunger? Rage at Christ? Fun? Irony? (I’m going with irony).
Where is the separation of church and state!?
Was this guy trying to sell them at the tissue bank?