<nettime> Holy Child kidnapped by LB!!!

[Luther Blissett <luther@syntac.net>]

>From "La Repubblica" (Italian daily paper), 2 September 1999, p. 21:


GANG KIDNAPS HOLY CHILDREN
"Give 100 million lire to the poor!"
Calabria, four statues stolen in churches. 
A famous name claims theft: Luther Blissett 

from our correspondent Pantaleone Sergi

Diamante - Since the fourth Holy Child was kidnapped, snatched from the
arms of the Virgin Mary, the people of Cosenza's Tyrrhenian coast (where
tourists are enjoying the last sunny days) have started to be alarmed. 
Nobody can figure out what is the real purpose of the persons hiding
themselves behind the name "Luther Blissett". They wrote "Up with Marx! Up
with Debord!" at the foot of their communiques, by which they summoned
Ecclesiastic authorities to distribute 100 million lire [about $53,000,
t.n.] to the local poor.  Luther Blissett is a famous alias on the
Internet, a cyberpunk [sic! :-)].  However, this tyrrhenian name-sake, who
stole statues in the little towns of Belvedere Marittimo, Tortora and
Diamante, does not seem to feel at home with the Net: the communiques are
typewritten by an old Olivetti (very anarchist-chic), and the language
reminds of past red terrorists: "The Holy Child will be destroyed. Anyway,
you only care for the money, not for the Child's sacral value [...] In
Calabria people die of hunger, thirst, unemployment, mafia, corruption and
usury. Illegal employment is the rule.  There are no houses. The Church
doesn't care and gets richer. If you don't distribute a 100 million lire
worth of food in the next 48 hours, the Holy Child will be smashed into
pieces."  Parish priests are alarmed: four art thefts in less than two
weeks. Padre Antonio Ranuio, priest of Diamante parish, says he is "sad
and sorrowful".  Padre Guido Mollo, priest of Belvedere parish, talks
about a conspiracy. As a matter of fact, all thefts took place in broad
daylight, and the only way to avoid new ones would be shutting all
churches' doors.  According to investigating authorities, these thefts
have not ideological motives. The traffic of sacred art is growing wide,
and most little towns host rich collections of XVIIth century Neapolitan
art. Diamante's Church of Immaculate Conception hosted the 15-inches
wooden Holy Child which the thieves snatched from the arms of the Madonna
del Rosario. According to experts, the statue has a high commercial value
for art collectors. "I hope this was the last burglary", says padre
Ranuio, who fears a sacrilegous use of the statues.  The Holy Child Gang
started to strike at mid-August holyday. The first theft (a XVIIth century
Holy Child in Belvedere) took place on the 16th.  Two days later, again in
Belvedere, the second victim was a Crown-carrying angel. Another Holy
Child was stolen a few days later in Tortora's Chiesa dell'Annunziata: the
thieves broke in from a side entrance and snatched the child from St..
Anthony's arms. Last monday, the latest theft in Diamante.  Believers are
now praying and begging God that the statues return to their churches. The
Carabinieri say they have some clues and will capture the mysterious gang.

[A press-release from the authors of *Q*]


UNCONDITIONAL SOLIDARITY TO THE LUTHER BLISSETTS 
WHO STOLE HOLY CHILDREN FROM CALABRIAN CHURCHES

Bologna, 2 September 1999

Journalists wonder what is behind it: why do unknown people steal Holy
Child statues from the churches of Tyrrhenian Calabria? Why do they use
the "Luther Blissett" multiple name?  To us, there's nothing "behind" it
except what our name-sakes themselves wrote in their communiques: the
Church must give 100 million lire to the poor, or the statues will be
destroyed. It's plain and simple: priests must empty their wallets!  It is
possible that these wonderful actions of iconoclasty and class war, these
attacks to the catholic power organizing its arrogant self-celebration
(the 2000 Holy Jubilee) was inspired by our novel *Q* - the whole story
seems has an Anabaptist flavour and seems to have gushed out from the
novel's pages. If this were real, we'd be happy to be described as "wicked
teachers". Indeed, we are very keen to call ourselves the "ideological
mandators" of the Calabria events. So far, this is the best consequence of
the 30,000 copies we have sold.  We hope that numberless emulators follow
these Calabrian steps. Forcing priests to shut the doors of their churches
is the best way to oppose the impending Jubilee.  In the unfortunate case
the police capture our Calabrian name-sakes, we'll express our active
solidarity by any means necessary.  We don't need a War on Poverty. What
we need is a war on the rich. 

Luther Blissett 
(in this line-up: Fabrizio P. Belletati, Giovanni Cattabriga, 
Luca Di Meo, Federico Guglielmi)


<http://www.syntac.net/lutherblissett>
A clear, thorough LB primer - last update: August 1999 - English

<http://www.LutherBlissett.net>
The (in)Complete Archives 1994-99 - Italian

<http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Leftbank/6815>
Luther Blissett and the "Huelga de Arte"(Art strike 2000-2001) - Spanish

<http://www.contrast.org/kg>
Luther Blissett and Kommunikationsguerilla - German

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