A well-known catholic priest has said churches need to review their security and consider installing CCTV following the vandalism of two separate parishes in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin over the weekend.

Fr Paddy Byrne is parish priest of the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois.

Speaking to the Irish Independent on Sunday afternoon, he thanked Gardaí for apprehending the culprit behind “a mindless act of vandalism” in his parish which saw a new candelabra, which had been placed over a space where many parishioners like to light a candle, “totally destroyed” and smashed into pieces.

“I don’t believe there was any big motivation against the church, I think it was mindless vandalism, which churches are particularly vulnerable to because we choose to keep our doors open,” Fr Byrne said.

He highlighted that the attack on the church was an attack on “a sacred building”.

“People come in here at different times of the day to find a quiet space from the busy and noisy world and to find solace in prayer.” He added that religious buildings like churches and mosques “shouldn’t have to shut up shop over fear of vandalism”.

But he said the two incidents of vandalism in his diocese were a wakeup call to churches to be “on top of their game” in relation to “safeguarding their sacred spaces and vessels”.

On Saturday, the parish priest and parishioners of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Allen, Co Kildare were shocked to discover it had been substantially damaged when thieves ripped out the Tabernacle, containing sacred hosts, as well as making off with the safe from the sacristy, and the candle shrine from the back of the Church.

Fr Willie Byrne told the Irish independent that the thieves smashed a stained-glass window to gain entry to the small isolated church and broke down a side door in order to make off with the sacred objects.

“There was absolute devastation in the parish when we discovered what had happened,” he said and added that it is the second time the rural parish, which can hold just over 150 people, has been targeted. In September 2018 it was also broken into, though nothing was taken on that occasion.

Fr Byrne paid tribute to his parishioners, who rallied around and cleared up the damage enabling Mass to go ahead on Sunday.

On Sunday afternoon, Gardaí discovered the sacred vessels stolen from Holy Trinity abandoned in a field near Newbridge.

Fr Byrne believes the thieves dumped them there when they discovered that there was no money in any of the objects. “There is a misconception that there is money in parish churches. Any money collected tends to be very small and the candle shrine had recently been emptied.”

Fr Paddy Byrne of Abbeyleix said, “I’m not for closing up the church. In the context of the very stressful pace of life, we want people to be able to come here at any time and be able to light a candle and retreat to a sacred space. These are sacrosanct spaces that must be respected.”

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