Another Catholic church and another Anglican church in Canada have been burned down, and a man was arrested for allegedly setting fire to a church in Los Angeles.
Since June 21, there have been fires at 10 Canadian churches -- mostly Catholic -- and multiple acts of vandalism. The incidents followed news that Native Canadians have used ground-penetrating radar in cemeteries on the grounds of former residential schools, which were part of a Canadian program to assimilate indigenous peoples. The existence of the cemeteries had been known, but the news this spring and summer has put the controversy over the residential schools back in the limelight.
Many of the schools, which stretched across Canada and were in operation from the mid-19th to the late-20th centuries, were run by Catholic religious orders. A truth and reconcilation commission several years ago detailed the ways children were forcibly removed from their families to be educated in European traditions at the schools, forbidden to use their native languages and forced to drop elements of their Native culture.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has called for Pope Francis to come to Canada to apologize for the Church’s role in the schools, said last week that he understands the anger behind the church burnings but said it was “not something we should be doing as Canadians.”
The latest church to burn down is a former Polish Catholic church near Redberry Lake, northwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. According to local media, there was no immediate comment from law enforcement on the cause of the Thursday afternoon blaze.
Lenore Swystun, who lives nearby, told CTV News that the church was not being used but was a historic landmark where people could go inside.
A plaque found in the pile of rubble identified the church as Holy Trinity, which was open from 1909 to 1985.
Swystun’s husband, Douglas, commented, “When a church like this is ripped away from us, it’s horrible.”
As horrible as it may be, it’s worse when a church is burned down that is still active, and there have been five such churches lost in British Columbia since June 21. Four were Catholic, and one was Anglican. This week, a bishop in that province asked alleged arsonists to cease and desist, as the fires are hurting people -- including Indigenous who might be Catholic.
"We're all moral human beings, we have emotions, but it's to do something constructive with the emotions, not destructive," said Bishop Gregory Bittman of Nelson, in B.C.'s West Kootenay region. "It [the arson] just reinforces and continues the anger … it's not going to solve the issues."
His own Cathedral of Mary Immaculate in Nelson was vandalized with orange paint on its exterior June 30.
Bishop Bittman made the case for examining the history of the residential schools more closely. As the CBC reported:
Here is a list of incidents so far:
The controversy has also spilled over into the United States, with several reports of church vandalism since late June. On Thursday, St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles was damaged, as a man allegedly set the belltower on fire. He was taken into custody.
“The church building incurred some damage, including fire damage to the roof of the bell tower and some broken stained-glass windows, but thankfully no one was in the building at the time,” said spokeswoman Itzel Magana told MyNewsLA.com.
