Vandals tore down a huge 30 kilo metal memorial cross from the cemetery next to the pilgrimage church in Marienbaum. Father Jeremias Kehren, pastor of the church, expressed the shock of the community and called it an attack on the cemetery and those who mourn there: "The wickedness with which this memorial was desecrated leaves us speechless."
The cross was erected 25 years ago by the former parish priest Wolfgang Derix to honor those who were buried in the cemetery.
While the number of metal thefts in cemeteries in the area has been increasing, police investigated this incident as vandalism because none of the metal was taken.
Sources: Kirche und Leben and RP Online