Holy oil, phones stolen from clerics' cars

BALTIMORE -- A thief broke into cars used by Cardinal William H. Keeler and retired Archbishop William D. Borders this week, stealing cellular phones from both and a vial containing holy oil from the cardinal's car.

The break-ins happened Sunday night or Monday morning while the cars were parked in a garage on Franklin Street near the Catholic Center in downtown Baltimore, said William Blaul, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The oil that was stolen from Cardinal Keeler's car was in a glass vial in a carrying case. It is used in sacramental anointings, such as the anointing of the sick.

"Priests who do a lot of traveling carry holy oil in a case, and that might be what caught [the thief's ] eye," Mr. Blaul said. "It's upsetting anytime something with sacred religious value is taken. That's probably more upsetting than a piece of electronics being taken."