Czech who stole pectoral cross in Bavaria sentenced to 2.5 years in jail

A Bavarian court has sentenced a Czech man to two-and-a-half years in prison for stealing a pectoral cross bequeathed by the late Pope Benedict XVI to a parish in his native Bavaria. The Berchtesgadener Anzeiger newspaper reported on the verdict on Tuesday, saying the cross may soon be returned to the church in Traunstein. The 53-year-old Czech man stole the gold-plated, bejeweled cross from the church in June of last year. Its material value was estimated at around 2,000 euros, but its cultural and historical value is significantly higher, the paper said.