Parishioners in fear as drug addicts smear blood on church statues

THE funeral of a 13-year-old overdose victim will be held this weekend in a church where drug addicts smear blood on statues and shoot up in confession boxes.

The statues were smeared with blood on a number of occasions in the last fortnight, leading some parishioners to believe they were bleeding, Fr John Hughes said.

Fr Hughes, parish priest of St Catherine’s in Meath Street, Dublin, said he has noticed an upsurge in the numbers of heroin addicts openly shooting up in the area.