SW News: In the United States, a Catholic church was found vandalized on Monday, June 28. The Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado, became the victim of vandal attack and the number “1323” was spray-painted on the outer wall of the church. It is suspected that the number stands for the bodies of 1,323 Indigenous children discovered from the site of former Church-run schools in Canada.

The motive behind the vandalism is yet to be ascertained. The graffiti was cleaned by Tuesday.

In May, the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found at Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Last week, 751 unmarked graves were discovered at the site of the Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.  Another 182 unmarked graves have also been discovered from St Eugene’s Mission School near Cranbrook, British Columbia.

Following the discovery of unmarked graves of Indigenous children, at least five Catholic churches located in Canadian Indigenous areas were torched, and another two were vandalized.

The Catholic bishops of the nation have expressed their sincere apologies for the Church’s role in the residential school system in which Indigenous children were forcibly enrolled in schools, many of which were run by Catholic priests and nuns, to be assimilated into Western society.

To foster meaningful encounters of dialogue and healing, a group of Canadian bishops, along with a delegation of Indigenous people and residential school survivors, is scheduled to meet the Holy Father in December.




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