Church goers were stunned when a priest compared gay people and those who have sex before marriage to infected zombies.

In his homily to parishioners last weekend in the Friary in Co Kilkenny, Brother Tom Forde suggested those who believe in contraception and abortion are “morally rotten” and the “living dead”.

The homily read: “I begin this homily with an embarrassing admission. It may destroy whatever respect you have for me.

“You may decide to disregard everything I say now and in the future. But there is a point to my admission and I ask you to be patient with me. I am a little odd. I like zombies.”

The former University College Cork chaplain continued to list movies and TV shows featuring zombies, including US hit show The Walking Dead.

He acknowledged they are “ridiculous” horror stories but suggests people are “physically alive but spiritually dead, morally rotten or at least infected”.

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He said: “We see this when the mask slips and someone we thought a friend is revealed as a fiend, full of anger, spite, malice, lust or pride we had not seen before. We see it in self-destructive, irrational behaviour.

“It is visible in the abuse of drugs and alcohol, in adultery, fornication and homosexuality (and there are other unnameable behaviours). As well as in acceptance of abortion and contraception and in the move to legalise euthanasia.

“In the zombie genre once you’re bitten you’re infected and there’s no hope. The only way to deal with the monsters is to stab or shoot them in the brain for otherwise they are merciless, relentless and unstoppable.

“Zombies, thank God, do not actually exist but I would suggest, spiritual-zombie hood does.”

It is understood a number of people got up and left the mass last Saturday. When contacted to explain his views by the Irish Mirror, the secretary of the Capuchin Friary in Kilkenny said: “He [Brother Forde] has nothing to explain. There will be no comment.”

Following the mass, Brother Forde posted his homily to his blog page – but it has now been deleted. The Irish Mirror saw the two-page speech, which included a photo of zombies and was titled: “The living dead are all around us and Christ alone has the cure: the Holy Spirit.”

Brother Forde continued to say that being obedient to Christ was the only cure for those “infected”.

Reacting to the homily hours before launching Dublin Pride, manager Eddie McGuinness said: “I’m flabbergasted. Those words are harmful, not just within the LGBT community but within society.

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“So again the Catholic Church is trying to tell people how to live their lives when they should be looking internally and cleaning up what they did themselves.”