Roman Catholic church in downtown Saskatoon was hit with red paint. Photo courtesy: Donna Heimbecker
Photos shared with APTN News show graffiti scrawled on St. Paul Co-Cathedral in downtown Saskatoon.
Social media posts claim red paint was used to smear handprints and write the slogan “We were children” on the outside walls, doors and steps Thursday.
It happened the same day Cowesses First Nation, about 160 km east of Regina, announced the discovery of 751 unmarked graves connected to the former Marieval Indian Residential School.
Saskatoon Police officers went to the downtown church but did not lay any charges.
An APTN reporter in Saskatoon said Friday the graffiti was already washed off.
Also Thursday, the Archdiocese of Regina issued a statement about the 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval school.
The institution was funded by the federal government and operated by the Roman Catholic Church.
Archbishop Donald Bolen apologized for the church’s role.
“I know that apologies seem a very small step as the weight of past suffering comes into greater light, but I extend that apology again, and pledge to do what we can to turn that apology into meaningful concrete acts,” Bolen said in the statement.
So far, the Catholic Church itself has declined to apologize.
