Catholic churches burned in aboriginal areas of Canada

A few weeks after the remains of a Catholic boarding school were found, two Catholic churches were destroyed by fire.

A few weeks after the remains of 215 children were found at a former Catholic boarding school for Aboriginal children in Kamloops, Canada, two other Catholic churches were destroyed by fire. Anne’s Church in the original Upper Similkamen district and Chewbacca Church in Lower Similkamen district caught fire within an hour early Saturday morning, the Canadian Federal Police said.

“The two churches were destroyed,” a police statement said, describing the fires as “suspicious.” And it will be checked whether there was a connection to the church fires in the cities of Penticton and Oliver, about 50 kilometers away, a week in advance. Investigations into the fires in Penticton and Oliver are still ongoing.

A few weeks ago, the remains of 215 children were discovered secretly buried at the site of a former Catholic children’s home in Kamloops in the western Canadian province of British Columbia. The discovery caused shock throughout the country.

In Canada, by 1874, about 150,000 children of indigenous couples and couples were separated from their families and culture and placed in church homes to force them to adjust to the white majority community. Many of them were abused or sexually assaulted at home. According to previous information, at least 3,200 of these children died, most of them from tuberculosis.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday apologized for his “harmful” forced assimilation policies. He also apologized to Pope Francis.

(APA / DPA)