A parish priest in Limerick has appealed to the person he believes is behind an orchestrated campaign of malicious damage against church property to stop immediately. Kathryn Hayes reports.
Speaking from the pulpit at Sunday Mass in St Paul's Church , Raheen, Father John Leonard said he was offering the person involved "a chance" to cease the campaign before it went too far.
He believes that the individual responsible for the damage is a parishioner and a regular Mass-goer at St Paul's.
In the last year, a window at the church, which featured an elaborate etching, was broken and cost €18,000 to replace. In recent months, excrement was found outside the church and also outside the home of the parish sacristan. A week ago, stones were thrown at the same house and on the same night paint was thrown at Father Leonard's house.
"We've been having a lot of problems in recent months, some major and some more minor. The most serious incident was when the window was broken because it cost €18,000 to replace," he said.
Father Leonard said he has strong suspicions about who is responsible and he wants the person to stop before his identity becomes known.
Father Leonard has been parish priest at St Paul's for the past 13 years. He is well known for a special collection of literature entitled The Leonard Collection, which was recently purchased by Pulitzer prize-winning author, Frank McCourt and donated to the University of Limerick.