Toronto, ON August 4, 2022 – On August 2, Statistics Canada released a report on police reported violent crime in Canada, revealing that the largest increase in targeted crime occurred against Catholics, with a 260 percent increase between 2020 and 2021.
Undoubtedly, this increase can be attributed to attacks on Catholic churches in Canada in 2021 including the deliberate burning down of churches. The CCRL had reported that the period from May through August of last year witnessed more attacks on Catholic churches than during any other period.
Mainstream media has reported the overall 27 percent increase, but the most staggering of all increases, the 260 percent rise in anti-Catholic hate crimes, has been largely ignored.
The CCRL will fulfill our mandate to work with the media to ensure that anti-Catholic defamation and indeed anti-Catholic violence will not be tolerated. Our politicians must speak out against this alarming trend and law enforcement officials must vigorously investigate all incidents of hate crimes against Catholics and charge those responsible.
The League continues to update our Church Attacks Database, accessible from www.ccrl.ca cataloguing attacks against Catholic churches in Canada ranging from the breaking of stained-glass windows, to acts of desecration and church burnings.
The Church Attacks Database provides a means by which people can report to us new incidents, or provide us with additional information and photos of existing entries by clicking on the link, Report an Attack at a Church or Religious Site from the database in www.ccrl.ca.
The CCRL is providing Canada’s only nationwide database that tracks and records attacks against our churches and other Catholic properties. We also wish to maintain a record of arrests and convictions from such attacks. We will follow through to make sure that law enforcement responds with vigor to this alarming trend in anti-Catholic violence.
We appeal to those of you who are financially able to help us in our mission by sending a donation to the CCRL by clicking here or by mailing a cheque to the CCRL at 2305 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6S 1P1, or by calling the office at (416) 466-8244 or 1-844-722-2275 (CCRL).
About the CCRL
Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) (www.ccrl.ca) assists in creating conditions within which Catholic teachings can be better understood, cooperates with other organizations in defending civil rights in Canada, and opposes defamation and discrimination against Catholics on the basis of their beliefs. The CCRL was founded in 1985 as an independent lay organization with a large nationwide membership base. The CCRL is a Canadian non-profit organization entirely supported by the generosity of its members.
To donate to the CCRL, please click here.
For further information:
Christian Domenic Elia, PhD
CCRL Executive Director
416-466-8244
@CCRLtweets