AN investigation has been launched by Gardaí over photos that emerged of a sex act inside an Irish church.
The images showed two men - one dressed in priest vestments - engaged in a variety of sexual acts both on top of and adjacent to a church altar.
It's understood that the photographs were taken inside St Bartholomew’s Church in Kildorrery, Co. Cork.
An internal investigation was launched by the Diocese after the pictures surfaced last week.
Gardaí in Cobh have now confirmed their own investigation into the incident.
In a statement, a Garda spokesman said: "Gardaí at Cobh Garda Station received a report in relation to an incident in a church in the Diocese.
"The incident was reported on the 2nd May. Investigations on going."
Kildorrery parish priest Fr Eamon Kelleher admitted that the photographs appear to have been taken inside his church.
He told the Examiner: "The decent people of Kildorrery are saddened and disappointed that images like that are associated with their church.
"But that won’t let it come between them and their love of God and their faith.
"The people are coming to daily mass here and as far as they are concerned their church is still a holy place."
Fr Kelleher added that the images may have been "photoshopped" and Gardaí are working to find out if they are genuine.
"We don’t know if they’re photoshopped or real, I just want the investigation to take its course," he said.
"Gardaí will try to determine if the photographs are genuine, or faked and try and identify who was in them and when and where they were taken."
