By Martin Cole-
Catholic churches built on indigenous land in Canada have been burnt down under suspicious circumstances.
Early Monday morning, fires consumed both the Sacred Heart church, on territory of the Penticton Indian Band and the St Gregory’s church, on the territory of the Osoyoos Indian Band. Both churches, constructed largely of wood, were more than a century old.
The fires, which occurred hours apart, happened on National Indigenous Peoples Day – and come nearly a month after the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation found what they believe are the remains of 215 children in unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.
In the early hours of June 21, two 100-year-old Catholic churches that were built on indigenous land in Canada were burnt down. The flames were seen by a Penticton RCMP officer on patrol, who noticed the fire was coming from Sacred Heart Church on Green Mountain Road.
The reason for the arson has not been established, but sources from Canada told The Eye Of Media.Com that a combination of the fact the remains of indigenous children was found at an old children’s school historical sex abuses was one of the reasons arsonists burnt down the church. One source said: ” I have heard that a lot of people in the area are displeased with the historical past and present situation in the catholic church were children have been abused, and a blind eye was turned.
Shortly after, at 3.10 am, Oliver RCMP was notified St. Gregory’s Church on Nk’mip Road was also burning. Both buildings ‘burned to the ground.’
The blazes come after the discovery of 215 Indigenous children’s remains at an old Catholic school. On the back of this discovery, the Canadian government has offered Indigenous people an apology but the Catholic church, which was part of the terrible incident, has not.
Despite calls for the Vatican to also issue an apology for its involvement, members of the church have only spoken about the sadness they have for the incident. On the back of this, some have speculated this silence could be motivation for the possible arson attacks.
For over a century, more than 150,000 Indigenous children in Canada were forced to attend Christian schools as part of a broader strategy to assimilate them into Canadian society. The schools, where physical and sexual abuse was rampant, were run by a number of churches and funded by the federal government.
Nonetheless, Sgt Jason Bayda, Media Relations Officer for the Penticton South Okanagan RCMP, said the authorities are not speculating the motive:
Should our investigations deem these fires as arson, the RCMP will be looking at all possible motives and allow the facts and evidence to direct our investigative action. We are sensitive to the recent events, but won’t speculate on a motive.
In reaction to the incident, Father Thomas Kakkaniyil, the priest in charge of St. Gregory’s Church, said the church had been burnt down after it had its first mass in a year because of COVID-19. Kakkaniyil was also adamant that an attack on the churches would not have happened from within the community.
The priest told the Vancouver Sun, ‘Somebody from outside came and burned it as I understand it.’ Kakkaniyil added, ‘It was done on the Osoyoos First Nation land but not by those people. It was somebody else.’
“We, along with the Osoyoos Indian Band … are in disbelief and anger over these occurrences as these places of worship provided service to members who sought comfort and solace in the church,” the Penticton Indian Band said in a statement. “Please do not approach our Indigenous members and ask how we feel about it. This is a fresh wound that needs time to heal and contextualize our feelings as we will support the investigative efforts.”