Gardaí to probe sale of fraudulent Mass cards

GARDAÍ in Mayo are to investigate the sale of allegedly fraudulent Mass cards in shops across the county.

Pre-signed Mass cards printed in the Midlands with the signatures of missionary priests are being sold in shops in Ballina, Castlebar and Ballyhaunis.

“The sale of such cards bearing unauthorised signatures would have to be seen as collecting money under a false pretence and those involved could be liable for prosecution under the Criminal Justice Act 2001,” a garda spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the Catholic Communications office at Maynooth said the country’s bishops oppose the sale of Mass cards in shops.

“The bishops and the Conference of Religious in Ireland has said that this is inappropriate and it undermines the correct eucharistic theology,” the spokesperson said.

Four different priests’ names are used on the fraudulent Mass cards. Some of the cards bear the name of a Fr Martin Njoroge, a Kenyan priest who was shot dead in an armed robbery outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, last April.

Another name is Fr Hose Thenghrthrar, an Indian priest who has formally written to one of the distributors requesting his signature be removed from the cards.

The same applies to a Fr Nicodemus Kitata, from the parish of Kitui in Kenya, who has been prohibited by his bishop from issuing Mass cards in Ireland.

The final name appearing on the cards is that of Fr Oscar Mkodana, from Malawi - a man who has been missing for over a year and is presumed to be either dead or no longer a priest.

Three different companies are believed to be distributing the cards - one has been in business for several years and has a network of sales reps operating around the country on a cash-only basis.

Bishop Colm O’Reilly of the Longford diocese recently called on members of the public to stop purchasing pre-signed cards. He said priests often agree to signing Mass offerings but they are unaware their signature is then used in fraudulent cards.