Church of San Salvatore al Monte
Franciscan friars at San Salvatore al Monte near Florence have been plagued with bible thefts and are now praying that the thief will be struck down with a bad case of the runs.
First it was a rare and expensive bible that was snatched off the church’s lectern. A donor quickly stepped in to provide a replacement bible for the 15th century church that used to be frequented by Michelangelo but the second bible was stolen within hours.
If the friars may have been willing to forgive one theft, but two missing bibles was too much. They took their displeasure public by posting a note for all church-goers to see. In their posting, the friars state: "We pray to God that the thief is struck by a strong bout of the shits."
They hope that a bad case of diarrhoea will be enough to lead the criminal away from his life of sin.
One of the friars admitted that the language was strong but that the punishment would match the crime.
