Thieves steal baby Jesus figure from crib in Newport church

9:10am Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News

MISSING JESUS: Father Michael Evans with the crib at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Stow Hill, Newport MISSING JESUS: Father Michael Evans with the crib at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Stow Hill, Newport

A STATUE of the baby Jesus has been stolen from a nativity scene inside a Newport church.

Small plastic figurines of the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus were inside the foyer of St Mary’s Catholic Church, Stow Hill, until they vanished on New Year’s Eve, said Father Michael Evans.

“I discovered that the crib figures had gone walkabout,” said Father Michael, who took over responsibility for the six Catholic churches in the All Saints parish six weeks ago.

“I thought maybe Mary and Joseph had gone back to Bethlehem, but I found them at the bottom of Stow Hill. Maybe they had gone clubbing.

“The infant child we haven’t found yet,” he said. “Perhaps He is out doing His father’s work.”

The main crib is inside the church near the Christmas tree, but the plastic figures – which stand along with three wise men and two sheep – had been placed in the foyer to show people what Christmas is all about, he said.

“The front door is always open,” said Father Michael, formerly parish priest in Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. “The statue has no monetary value, it’s plastic. If it turns up, it turns up.”

Newport city councillor for Stow Hill Miqdad Al-Nuaimi said he was disappointed that someone would steal the model.

“The church must have been doing this for years and years and not had anything like this happen before,” said Cllr Al- Nuaimi, who has been a councillor for 20 years.

“I am very disappointed that someone should choose to do something like this. The last thing you would think about would be to put the display under lock and key. I hope they find it.”

The Catholic community celebrated 200 years of worship in Newport last year.

Comments(22)

Dolieboy says...
10:50am Thu 3 Jan 13

I guess they saved him from crucifixion.

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sperduti says...
11:10am Thu 3 Jan 13

i saw the display as i walked past one day and thought how lovely it looked!! do the decent thing and return it to the church it does not belong to you who ever took you thief !!! despicable !!

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lowandhardandinthecorner says...
1:00pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Probably an act of god

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areyour4real says...
1:08pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Scum, sub human scum. Nail them up I say!

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Mervyn James says...
1:18pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Lucky they didn't steal representations of Allah or their Imams, or they would lose their hands or get stoned. I detect a lack of any respect here for anyone's belief ! As usual mock the Christians be damned careful you don't mock any other.... they don't laugh.

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LSB Bee says...
1:26pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Good post Mervyn James

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let em swing says...
2:22pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Did they get away with the manger ?

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Independentvoter says...
2:59pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Councillors in the Stow hill Ward seem to be out of touch with their constituents. St.Mary's Church has been the target for theives for years. Its sad when parishioners cannot leave their hand bag unattended in a catholic church. Disgusting ! Dont think they will get to heaven.

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beetee says...
3:46pm Thu 3 Jan 13

interesting to see Fr Evans`s ( dare i say "christian ") approach to all these shenanigans and that of the negative self righteousn defenders of the true faith as shown by some of our correspondents .

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Gareth says...
4:25pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Mervyn James wrote:
Lucky they didn't steal representations of Allah or their Imams, or they would lose their hands or get stoned. I detect a lack of any respect here for anyone's belief ! As usual mock the Christians be damned careful you don't mock any other.... they don't laugh.
I don't believe there are that many physical representations of Allah or the Prophet Mohammad, MJ.

That said, I doubt that any Muslim would like the idea of someone stealing a representation of Jesus Christ either ...him being such an important messenger from god and all that!

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let em swing says...
4:45pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Gareth wrote:
Mervyn James wrote:
Lucky they didn't steal representations of Allah or their Imams, or they would lose their hands or get stoned. I detect a lack of any respect here for anyone's belief ! As usual mock the Christians be damned careful you don't mock any other.... they don't laugh.
I don't believe there are that many physical representations of Allah or the Prophet Mohammad, MJ.

That said, I doubt that any Muslim would like the idea of someone stealing a representation of Jesus Christ either ...him being such an important messenger from god and all that!
Theres no representations because he is make believe, simples .

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Strider says...
4:57pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Gareth wrote:
Mervyn James wrote:
Lucky they didn't steal representations of Allah or their Imams, or they would lose their hands or get stoned. I detect a lack of any respect here for anyone's belief ! As usual mock the Christians be damned careful you don't mock any other.... they don't laugh.
I don't believe there are that many physical representations of Allah or the Prophet Mohammad, MJ.

That said, I doubt that any Muslim would like the idea of someone stealing a representation of Jesus Christ either ...him being such an important messenger from god and all that!
One of them was telling me that Mohammed or Baphomet is another name for Jesus.. When they staged the protest in Cardiff they had placards saying "Jesus was a Muslim"

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Dolieboy says...
5:50pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Any ransom demands ? Maybe photos of him will turn up travelling round the world. He may have been taken into care, not right to have a child born in a barn in the cold weather.

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dailoco says...
6:51pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Having read all the so called comments it looks like that persons writing the anti Christian drivel are no better than the lowlife who stole the statue in the first place.
About eight years ago I repaired the two candle sticks for the altar in the Royal Gwent.These were stolen followed soon after by the cross,whoever stole them have no respect for anybody or thing in this world.but even if you catch them all they would get would be a slap on the wrist and told don,t do it again.
Dave Lewis

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Gareth says...
7:18pm Thu 3 Jan 13

Strider wrote:
Gareth wrote:
Mervyn James wrote:
Lucky they didn't steal representations of Allah or their Imams, or they would lose their hands or get stoned. I detect a lack of any respect here for anyone's belief ! As usual mock the Christians be damned careful you don't mock any other.... they don't laugh.
I don't believe there are that many physical representations of Allah or the Prophet Mohammad, MJ.

That said, I doubt that any Muslim would like the idea of someone stealing a representation of Jesus Christ either ...him being such an important messenger from god and all that!
One of them was telling me that Mohammed or Baphomet is another name for Jesus.. When they staged the protest in Cardiff they had placards saying "Jesus was a Muslim"
The protester said that Mohammad is Jesus? Umm... i don't think he/she was a practising Muslim, Strider!

I would love a practising Muslim to enlighten me, but I believe that the Qu'ran holds that JC was a Messiah of God, but only as a prophet who preceded (and foretold of) Mohammad's arrival. It was Mohammad who was the mouthpiece of God, and whose words (god's words, technically) make up the Qu'ran.

So yeah, JC is held in very high regard in the Islamic faith, although not quite the 'main man' as the Jews or Christians believe.

Some of the main monothesic religions - the three I've mentioned at least (there are probably more, but I'll profess ignorance at this stage) - not only believe in JC, but also have pretty much the same beginnings (Abraham, David etc).

It actually seems amazing that being so similar at heart, there are those in positions of power in each faith that play on their believers' ignorance of other religions (and their minor differences), to incite hatred/fear, and to persecute the other.

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Katie Re-Registered says...
12:15am Fri 4 Jan 13

I'm surprised that the homophobic Archbishop of Westminster hasn't blamed this on the LGBT community, too, suggesting that the plastic figure has been kidnapped and is being held hostage until the church gives in to their same-sex marriage demands...buwhahahah
a:)))

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Katie Re-Registered says...
12:25am Fri 4 Jan 13

Btw...Although technically-speaking half-Jewish, Jesus was actually Jewish - at least by the definition of Jewish religious law as his mother was Jewish. If his Dad, God, had been Jewish and his mother wasn't then he wouldn't be classed as Jewish under Jewish religious law. Although the evidence as related in the gospels suggests that in his adult life he might have been pretty lapsed with regard to religion as he broke the sabbath, started saying that he thought a lot of the established clergy and leaders of organised religion were a bunch of hypocrites etc.

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smokintheweed says...
12:43am Fri 4 Jan 13

Katie Re-Registered wrote:
I'm surprised that the homophobic Archbishop of Westminster hasn't blamed this on the LGBT community, too, suggesting that the plastic figure has been kidnapped and is being held hostage until the church gives in to their same-sex marriage demands...buwhahahah

a:)))
Not sure where that idea came from.

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MR DUDLEY says...
12:55am Fri 4 Jan 13

Regardless of your religious views it is still a crime,theft!

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let em swing says...
12:34pm Fri 4 Jan 13

lol, a debate on the denomination of Jesus, jewish non jewish is like debating whether mickey mouse is a mormon, neither exist.

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Dolieboy says...
4:12pm Sat 5 Jan 13

let em swing wrote:
lol, a debate on the denomination of Jesus, jewish non jewish is like debating whether mickey mouse is a mormon, neither exist.
I have met Mickey Mouse and had my photo taken with him :)

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Carrot's says...
9:00pm Mon 7 Jan 13

Mervyn James wrote:
Lucky they didn't steal representations of Allah or their Imams, or they would lose their hands or get stoned. I detect a lack of any respect here for anyone's belief ! As usual mock the Christians be damned careful you don't mock any other.... they don't laugh.
Muslims believe - The minute that you start picturing what Allah (God) looks like then you know right away that IT IS NOT GOD! Anything that is within the imagination of a human, as soon as you can imagine it, then that is not God. Ergo Merv - your argument collapses yet again.

The most laid back and humerous comments come from the priest himself.

Would Jesus have called the perpetrators of this heinous crime 'sub human scum' - or forgiven them?

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