Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Former north-east minister who stole £31,000 forgiven and reinstated

The north-east minister stole £31,000 to pay off debts and buy a car in 2017.
The north-east minister stole £31,000 to pay off debts and buy a car in 2017.

A former Aberdeenshire minister who stole more than £31,000 from a fund for needy pensioners, has been reinstated to a permanent preaching post in the Highlands.

Ronald Gall was released from his duties as a minister in 2017, after admitting he had stolen the cash and used it to buy a car and pay off debts.

The 62-year-old was charged with theft after stealing a total of £31,463.48 between June 4, 2013, and March 20, 2015, from the Cameron Fund, which was created to help elderly people.

He was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

He also received a two-year suspension from any preaching position by the Church of Scotland.

Although he later repaid the cash in full, Rev Gall was banished from his position at Laurencekirk Parish Church and Aberluthnott Parish Church in Marykirk.

However, the Sun reported today that the minister has now been let back in the pulpit after Kirk chiefs forgave his crooked past and offered him a post.

Rev Gall landed a permanent position in Fodderty and Strathpeffer Parish Church in Contin in July, following an advert seeking someone with “integrity” to lead the local community.

A spokesman for the Church of Scotland said Rev Gall had shown “sincere remorse”, saying members of the church are aware of his circumstances.

He told us: “Rev Ronnie Gall was suspended from ministry for a period of two years after receiving a criminal conviction.

“He accepted his guilt and expressed sincere remorse for his wrongdoings.

“He has since returned to parish ministry serving as a locum initially where there was a mentoring process in place and he was encouraged to face issues raised by his past.

“His present congregations are aware of his circumstances.

“Forgiveness and redemption are core tenets of the Gospel and in readmitting Rev Ronnie Gall to the ministry we are putting these principles into practice.”

Last night, Tory MSP Russell Findlay added: “This Christian act of forgiveness is a decision for the church and they must have confidence in him.”