Burglars Target Holy Cross Church In Mt. Airy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Burglars take aim at a house of worship and unfortunately, it isn't the first time the thieves targeted the Holy Cross Church in Mt. Airy.
A quick glance and you might miss what the Holy Cross parish is missing at its rectory. But a closer look shows why Edward Arrington, a devoted parishioner, is just beside himself.
Arrington said, "Take the front doors off a rectory? The doors off of a rectory!"
Someone had stolen the doors some time on August 7th.
Father James Cox explained, "When I came back and saw the transom gone, it kind of made me sick."
Then some time this week, someone returned to steal the window above the doors, that's in addition to other valuables stolen from inside the rectory worth at least $40,000 in all.
"There were many things that were not touched so they knew exactly what they wanted," Father Cox added.
Turns out, burglars have hit this church several times in the last few years.
Arrington explained, "They ended up taking the down sprouts, they were copper. Then they came back and took these huge lights out front, all brass. Then they came back again and they took the lights off the side entrance doors."
And now, the doors and the window above -- the designs are unique enough so they're hoping someone watching at home will recognize them, should they turn up for sale somewhere.
Father Cox concluded, "They're really out to strip the building here. We're going to do everything we can to stop it and catch the guys and bring them to justice."
The church had a security system that failed to work properly at the time of the latest break-in. Eyewitness has learned the security system has since been repaired and the church is also considering installing surveillance cameras as added protection.
This is the second church that was burglarized this week (see related story).
Reported by Elizabeth Hur, CBS 3
