A total of ten churches in Calgary, including the Saint Mary’s Cathedral, were devastated by unknown culprits on July 1, which is Canada’s national day. The province of Alberta, in which Calgary is located, has a Western border with territories inhabited by Native Americans in British Columbia, where four other churches were burned in the last few weeks.
In the case of Calgary, the vandals painted over figures of Christ and the doors of churches using red paint. In one church, a window was broken and red paint was poured into the building.
On Wednesday, June 30, the Roman Catholic Parish of St. John the Baptist in Morinville (40 kilometers away from Edmonton, Alberta’s capital) was burned down. Two other churches were also set aflame, but they ended up suffering minimal damage. On Saturday, St. Jude’s Parish Church in Vancouver was also vandalized.
Left-wing activists vandalized the St. Jude’s Parish Church in #Vancouver last night. Catholic churches have been set ablaze &vandalized across #Canada in recent weeks. The campaign of hatred against Canadian Catholics is only intensifying #CatholicTwitter pic.twitter.com/bIcsvsxNez
— RedPilledPoland (@RedPilledPoland) July 4, 2021
According to police sources cited by the BBC, the acts of vandalism are associated with the “outrage due to the historic injustice concerning Canada’s indigenous people.”
Alberta’s governor Jason Kenney pointed out that one of the attacked churches, the All Nations Church, is a place of worship for “new Canadians” – migrants who are not aware of historical issues associated with the country’s indigenous population.
Catholic faithful Shelagh Toole from the Sacred Heart Church emphasized that the church was a very special place to her and has become an anchor for the local community, especially during the pandemic.
“I hope people will learn to forgive each other, despite all of these wounds,” she said.
The vandalism of Churches across Alberta is appalling.
This happened today at an African Evangelical Church in Calgary. The congregation is made up entirely of new Canadians, many of whom came here as refugees fleeing countries where Churches are often vandalized & burned down. pic.twitter.com/o9mGPLD7QO
— Jason Kenney (@jkenney) July 1, 2021
A representative of Canadian police has stated that, although he understood the emotions of the potential culprits, he believed that “these acts of vandalism are in opposition to the law which will lead to further divisions and even the destruction of our city.”
He declared that the police will continue searching for the culprits in order to prevent such incidents in the future.
