Toronto, ON July 30, 2021 – On June 22, the Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) decried the burning down of two Catholic Churches in British Columbia on June 21, National Indigenous People’s Day.
On July 1, Canada Day, the League issued another press release Burning Down Churches is Not the Answer after further acts of arson and desecration.
The CCRL has been working with media to highlight the unacceptable violence against Catholic churches across Canada in July and the lacklustre response from politicians and law enforcement to find and charge perpetrators, deterring further attacks.
The CCRL’s releases were quoted on July 6 in Church fires, vandalism condemned in The Catholic Register.
The League’s executive director Christian Elia was interviewed by Terry O’Neill for The BC Catholic and quoted in Response to church attacks ‘indicative of hatred, intolerance’ for religion: Catholic rights league on July 8 and again on July 15 in Vandalism, hate crimes against Christians high in Europe and North America.
After speaking with The Catholic Register about the CCRL’s forthcoming database on attacks against churches in Canada, Elia was again quoted in The Catholic Register on July 14 in ‘Intolerable’ violence no answer for anger.
Most recently, Elia spoke at length with journalist Kim Mackrael of The Wall Street Journal about the burning of churches in Canada for the benefit of American and international readers. He was quoted in the July 23 article More Canadian Churches Burn in Suspicious Fires.
The CCRL will continue to dialogue with politicians, law enforcement officials, and the media to highlight the targeting of Catholics and other Christians in what has been a summer of arson and desecration against churches and communities of the faithful.
We continue to work on the database. It is a project which was announced before these most recent attacks, always scheduled for launch this fall. Considering the current situation in Canada, we are working hard to launch the database even sooner.
Church vandalism has not been rare since 2015 in Canada, and we must collectively be more aware of this reality so that we can all unite in ending violence against religion and the buildings in which we worship.
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