Catholic priest on stolen crucifix from Oakland Park soup kitchen: 'Somebody needed him more than me,'
OAKLAND PARK - Thieves served an Oakland Park soup kitchen a bitter, pre-Thanksgiving rip-off. Someone snatched a crucifix off the building and left a hole in the Church mission.
Outside All Saints Catholic Church, someone stripped the mission's symbol off the old rugged cross hours before the soup kitchen opens to serve Thanksgiving meals to hundreds of people in need.
"The police officer said what happened to your Jesus?" Father Bob Caudill of All Saints Catholic Church Mission said. "I said, 'Oh, somebody needed him more than me.' Maybe that's true."
Father Bob Caudill showed CBS News Miami photos of the crucifix he installed near the front door years ago. Soon after the installation, Caudill saw a change in the crowds of people that line up twice a day for free food.
"People took their hats off," he said. "They get on the floor in front of the altar and pray. They're on the pews and they pray. It's just a whole different atmosphere. It's like that crucifix just kind of brings everyone into the frame of mind where I'm going."
So, the staff added a bigger symbol of Jesus near the curb on Powerline Road too. It remains untouched. Still, the question begs: Why did someone steal the crucifix near the door?
"Maybe it's a cry for help," Caudill said. "Maybe they're angry at the Church. We make mistakes. Maybe they're angry at me. Maybe one day I didn't give them attention. It's hard to give attention to 200 people all at the same time."
While Broward County Sheriff's deputies investigate the crime, Caudill wants the symbol returned quickly.
The soup kitchen expects more than 400 hungry guests between 7 am and 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Staff have refrigerators full of turkey, sides and pies to fill stomachs. However, the key to the mission's spiritual side is a cross to bare.
The Church does not want to press charges, Caudill said. Instead, Caudill wants to meet the thief and help meet whatever need he or she has.
