'Anger and disgust' over burglary at monastery

The intruders spent about an hour in the residential part of the monastery were 13 priests live, most of them elderly

A burglary at Belfast's Clonard Monastery has been likened to breaking into "a residential care home" by its rector.

Fr Brendan Kelly told BBC News NI that the intruders showed a "lack of respect" for the priests who live in the monastery, most of whom are over 80 years of age.

He said two burglars entered the building at about 01:00 BST on Monday and stole two laptops and a mobile phone, but nothing of religious significance.

Fr Kelly added that local parishioners had been in contact with the priests on Monday morning to express their "disgust and anger" over the burglary.

Police said the burglary was reported to them at about 06:05.

"A number of electronic items and some keys were taken and it is understood that the burglary took place some time between 00:55 and 01:45," Sgt Stevenson said.

"We are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the area or anyone who might have CCTV, dash-cam or other footage that could assist with our enquiries, to contact detectives."

'Anger of our churchgoers'

CCTV footage from the site appears to show two people wearing masks and gloves entering the residential part of the monastery.

"We're still not exactly sure how they got access," Fr Brendan said.

"They were here for about an hour inside the house."

Although it is not confirmed how the intruders got in, the rector believes it is linked to an earlier incident on Sunday when keys and a phone were stolen from a worker.

There are 13 Redemptorist priests living in the monastery in the west of the city, nine of whom are in their 80s.

Fr Kelly said it was more worrying that a community of that age profile had been targeted than what was stolen.

He said it showed "no place is secure", adding that it was lucky that none of the elderly priests witnessed the break-in.

"Imagine if one of them got up during the night and met [the burglars]" he said.

"We were lucky no-one confronted them".

He said it showed "not just a lack of respect for property but for people and particularly for the elderly".

Fr Kelly said that in addition to getting hold of the stolen items, the robbers had also "gained the anger of a lot of our churchgoers".

He added that the PSNI had been "extremely helpful" to the priests during their investigation and thanked them for their efforts.