Four crosses too much to bear for sceptics
Matt Cunningham
August 18, 2006 12:00am

Could God be living in Chelsea? That's the question the locals are asking after a fire ripped through St Joseph's Catholic church, leaving behind some bizarre symbols.
Firefighters and demolition workers were shocked to find images of four crosses on the wall behind the church's altar.
The crosses -- two each side of the crucifix -- have many wondering whether it's a strange coincidence or an act of God.
Some parishioners are already referring to them as the "Chelsea miracle".
The blaze broke out early on Wednesday and demolition supervisor Mark Barrett first noticed the crosses later that day.
"It's a little bit freaky," he said. "I just noticed on the wall there were four metal plaques and around the plaques there were crosses surrounding them.
"It's heat deflection, I have no doubt about that, but there are other plaques around the church and there's nothing around them."
CFA fire officer Ken Evans, of Patterson River fire brigade, was also shocked when he inspected the church yesterday.
"It's very weird and spooky," he said.
Mr Evans said firefighters had commented they had never seen anything like it.
"For the smoke to form in definite shapes is very unusual," he said. "It's supernatural or something. Someone's trying to tell us something."
But Lynne Kelly, author of The Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal, said there was likely to be a more rational explanation for the crosses.
"To believe in these images having a miraculous origin, we would need to know a lot more," she said.
Police say a serial arsonist may have been responsible for the fire, which caused $450,000 damage. But the parish might be able to use its "miracle" to recoup costs.
Bizarre religious images have proved money-makers in the past.
Thousands flocked to a Perth church in 2002 where a statue was said to cry rose-scented oil tears.
St Joseph's parish priest Father Greg Pritchard could not be contacted yesterday.