On February 11, 1994, thieves broke into the Norwegian National Gallery in Oslo and stole the famous painting ‘The Scream’ by artist Edvard Munch. The theft immediately shocked Norway and the whole world.
Edvard Munch’s masterpiece ‘The Scream’. Photo: Telegraph
The Scream is a work painted by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The pained face in the painting is one of the most iconic artistic images, considered a symbol of the body’s anxiety. human destiny. Munch’s works, including The Scream, had a profound influence on the Expressionist movement.
The police quickly began the investigation and focused their attention on Pal Enger, a former professional football player who had just been released from prison for art theft.
Pal Enger was born in the notorious Tveita neighborhood in Oslo, where if children do not study to escape the mud of crime, the only way is to play sports to change their lives, otherwise there is no way to… commit crime.
Giving up his promising football career, Pal Enger became a professional thief. Photo: CNN
In 1985, at the age of 18, Pal Enger made his professional football debut for Valerenga, a famous Norwegian club. Despite his talent and bright future, Pal Enger could not escape a life full of criminal intrigue. He quit his football career and became a thief.
In 1988, Pal Enger hatched a plan to steal The Scream with an accomplice, but the plot failed in an unbelievable way. They mistakenly stole Munch’s painting The Vampire, sold it, and were arrested by the police. During 4 years in prison, Enger still did not give up the idea of stealing The Scream.
In the early morning of February 12, 1994, when most of the Oslo police force was focused on protecting security for the Winter Olympics taking place in Lillehammer, Enger and his accomplices climbed a ladder into the National Gallery and broke down the door. notebook, stole the painting and left a note saying ‘thank you for the poor security’. It all happened within 50 seconds.
A short time later, an accomplice of Enger contacted Norwegian art dealers to find a way to sell The Scream and quickly fell into the police’s trap. Three months after the theft, police recovered the painting. Enger was the only person sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison in 1996.
Pal Enger was released from prison in 2002 and aspired to become…a painter. He is also the main character in the documentary The Man Who Stole the Scream, about the theft he caused.
-Joint statement between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill
On February 12, 2016, in La Habana (Cuba), a historic meeting took place between Pope Francis of the Catholic Church and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow of the Eastern Orthodox Church and issued a joint statement.
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill in La Habana in 2016. Photo: Reuters
Since the East-West schism in 1054, this is the second time the two largest and closest branches of Christianity have met, in the spirit of ecumenism. Previously in 1964, the first meeting after nearly 1,000 years of schism between Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His Holiness Athenagoras – took place in Jerusalem.
The meeting in Havana 2016 is highly historical and symbolic, promoting reconciliation and Christian unity. During this meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement from two church leaders containing 30 points on ending the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and the war in the region.
Presenting a 30-point joint statement between the two largest and closest churches of Christianity. Photo: Vaticannews
The statement also expressed their hope that the meeting would contribute to the restoration of Christian unity between the two churches. A variety of other issues are addressed: atheism, secularism, consumerism, migrants and refugees, the importance of family, marriage, concerns regarding abortion and euthanasia.
