Church of the Immaculate Conception, Oughterard. Photo: Parish Of Oughterard/Facebook
Offertory envelopes have been stolen from a church in Galway with thieves spending the money in a local business
The local church says it will now have to invest in security measures and video recording equipment.
A social media post from Oughterard Parish in Galway said: "It greatly saddens me to tell you that a number of your offertory envelopes have been stolen from the church. There is no easy way to trace them I am afraid".
The post outlined that there were 2 recorded instances of these envelopes being opened and the cash being used for purchases.
People have been asked by the parish to ensure that envelopes - "which are gratefully accepted" - are fully inserted into the safe beside the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"If it will not go in properly, remove it and bring to the parish office letterbox or better still, give it during one of the weekend masses.
"We will have to invest in recording of video and other security measures, further increasing demands on the parish finances. I am very sorry that this has occurred and we are working on it as top priority," the parish social media post outlines.
One parishioner labelled the actions of the thieves as "disgusting behaviour".
Another said: "Have some people got no morals? Stealing from the church".
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