by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Fifteen churches in Canada have been subjected to suspicious fires this year, with four being burned in Alberta alone during the run-up to Christmas, Post Millennial (PM) reports. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been investigating the incidents.
In the most recent Alberta cases, St. Mary Abbots Anglican church and St. Aidan's Church in the small town of Barrhead were both burned on Dec. 7 PM reports. On December 7, St. Mary church was burned to the ground, while St. Aidan’s suffered damage but can be restored for use.
Then, on Dec. 15, the unused St. Gabriel Catholic Mission in the small town of Janvier, was destroyed by fire, PM reports. The fourth most recent case took place on Dec.20 when the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Beiseker was torched.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has said in a statement that five of the 15 suspicious church fire cases reported to police in 2023 have been solved, PM reports.
Concerning possible motives for the arson attacks, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said: "None of the files we've solved showed any particular affinity against the churches whatsoever." Savinkoff added there was no evidence of a "concerted effort" against churches and that in most cases the perpetrators were either intoxicated or mentally ill.