An internally circulated church document, viewed by the Irish Mirror, has disclosed that the priest who was caught on video performing a sex act with another man on the altar of a church in Co. Cork, has ‘decided’ to leave the ministry on personal leave.

One of the men in the video, though it is not clear which one, was wearing priest vestments.

An anonymous source told the Mirror that “When the video came to public attention he suffered a lot of adverse attention and in discussions with his bishop it was decided he would take time out.”

The source went on to say that, “It is understood he has been suffering from some mental difficulties and some addiction problems”.

The video, and images, that rose from the incident were circulated amongst the senior members of the clergy were described as an ‘abomination‘, and the Mirror’s source said that they have led to “a major scandal in the area and people are devastated by it all.”

On May 5, just after the video surfaced, independent bishop Pat Buckley, who is openly gay, told the Sunday World that he had reported the incident to the church. Buckley stated that concerns regarding the incident were to do wholly with the “desecration” of a religious site, and not the sexuality of the men.

According to Buckley, the images originated from a priest who is not believed to be attached to St Bartholomew’s Church, and that the images were uploaded to a ‘well-known’ website.

While the incident may have been dealt with within the ministry, The Irish Mirror’s source said that the Garda investigation is ongoing. The penalty for a person who engages in sexual intercourse in a public place, under the Criminal Law Sexual Offences Act 2017, is liable for a prison sentence of up to two years.