Indigenous leaders call for arson attacks to stop on Catholic churches

Dozens of religious buildings targeted amid anger at residential school system deaths

Firefighters put out a burning Catholic church in Calgary, Canada (CTV)

Indigenous leaders are calling for arsonists to stop attacking Catholic churches in reaction to thousands of unmarked graves being discovered at former residential schools.

More than 150,000 indigenous children were taken from their families and placed in residential schools across Canada from 1863 to 1998, and thousands of the graves were only recently uncovered.

The Canadian government apologised for the residential school system in 2008, but the Catholic church, who were responsible for nearly 70 per cent of institutions, has not.

A wave of arson attacks against Catholic churches is thought to be connected to the finding of a further 751 graves at a school in Saskatchewan, and 215 children at a residential school in British Columbia.

Jenn Allan-Riley, a survivor of a residential school and assistant Pentecostal minister at Living Waters Church, told reporters on Monday that attacking churches “is not in solidarity” with the indigenous community.

She continued: “We're concerned about the burning and defacing of churches bringing more strife, depression and anxiety to those already in pain and mourning."

Among the churches targeted by arsonists in Alberta in recent days include a century-old Catholic church in Edmonton and the Vietnamese Alliance Church in Calgary.

A further 10 churches were damaged across Calgary in a single night, according to CTV News.

“Some residential school survivors have remained Catholic, and now have lost their place of worship and comfort,” Ms Allan-Riley added of the attacks.

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said the arson attacks on Catholic churches were “simply not right”, although he “fully” understood the anger and grief of “so many”.

“It is a shame and, indeed, it is something that is going to prevent people who will seek solace in times of grief from being able to visit their own places of worship”, Mr Trudeau said on Monday.