"Physical, cultural, spiritual, and sexual abuses, have left deep wounds and trauma. There is much that the Catholic Church, the Canadian government, and society are accountable for."

"Our Church is alive and active. Priests and faithful are in their places, prayer continues to flow, as does the daily liturgy in parishes. More in some than in others, depending on the location: where war activities are going on, or territories are occupied, there is no such possibility."

“One example is a person who claims to have been healed after placing his paralyzed hands on Father Hamel’s grave. We have the paperwork from his doctor. There are definitely supernatural elements."

The inhabitants of the town were taken to the mosque and asked to convert to Islam: “Issa (Jesus) has come, but his mission is over. He promised he would be followed by a successor, and that successor is Mohammed.

According to the statement, the priest’s “corpse was later discovered already decomposing on Tuesday July19."

Conflicts between nomadic herders and settled farmers date back centuries, but the influx of high-grade firearms over the past several years has made the attacks much more deadly and destructive.