An Italian priest stole cash from nuns in order to pay for gay sex, police have said.

The priest, who has not been named, allegedly swiped money entrusted to him by a local convent in the northern province of Belluno.

He then reportedly used it to pay his young Moroccan lover for sex.

The two are believed to have had a ‘long-standing relationship’.

While the amount of money the priest is accused of stealing has not yet been revealed, the amount he forked out could be thousands of euros.

According to Il Gazzettino, the bishop of the diocese immediately dismissed the priest for ‘health reasons’.

A full investigation is now underway.

This is not the first humiliation Italy’s religious leaders have faced when it comes to the LGBTI community.

Last year, it was revealed the Vatican had splashed out €23 million ($30 million) for priests and bishops to live in an apartment block above ‘Europe’s largest gay sauna’.