Franciscans urge compassion

Although saddened by the serious damage caused to the effigy of the crucifix at Ta' Giezu church, in Valletta, last week the Franciscan friars yesterday asked that the perpetrator be treated with "pity and justice".

The friars thanked all those who in some way expressed solidarity with them following the incident, adding that Friday, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, would be a day of reparation for what happened at the church.

The man who damaged the crucifix, a 33-year-old Indian with a British passport, was yesterday still under observation at Mount Carmel Hospital.

Last Friday, he climbed the steps behind the main altar and toppled the old crucifix which slammed against the altar steps.

The mother-of-pearl crucifix, a masterpiece made by Franciscan minors in Jerusalem over 200 years ago, broke into several pieces.

The man had earlier in the day spoken to the Franciscan provincial and told him he believed in reincarnation and that the spirit of Hitler was inside him.

Police sources said yesterday that a day before the church incident, the individual was picked up by officers in Hamrun after he was seen wandering in the streets of the village wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.

The sources said he had told the police he was homeless.