Outcry at vandalism in Roman Catholic church |11 June 2022

• R100,000 on offer for information leading to the arrest of the culprit(s)

Leaders of the country and of the Roman Catholic mission have described as “unacceptable” acts of vandalism committed inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

“This is not acceptable,” exclaimed President Wavel Ramkalawan and Roman Catholic Bishop Alain Harel after viewing the damage done yesterday morning.

The Seychellois people woke up yesterday to some shocking images of the destruction inside the Cathedral and the volunteers who came early to clean the Cathedral were flabbergasted at seeing all statues and prayer stations of the cross destroyed.

President Ramkalawan has strongly condemned and denounced these acts of vandalism. In solidarity with members of the Roman Catholic faith, the President accompanied by Vice-President Ahmed Afif and some cabinet ministers paid a visit to the Cathedral yesterday morning.

President Ramkalawan announced that a sum of R100,000 will be given to those who help get the culprits arrested and that the government will help the Church to get the damage repaired.

On behalf of the people of Seychelles and on his personal behalf, the head of State personally conveyed his support and solidarity to the Roman Catholic Bishop Alain Harel, Father David Alcindor and other members of the Catholic clergy.

“Today, in seeing the state of the Cathedral, I am saddened and appalled that such unacceptable acts have been committed. This is not only a crime against the church but a crime against the whole country, a crime against our very own harmonious culture of tolerance among our people. This is a place of worship where we raise our prayers to our Creator, our children receive sacraments here, where we share solemn spiritual moments and where we come for consolation and support when our loved ones depart. The government will provide all necessary support to the church during this difficult time to restore the building. As for those who have committed these acts, I pray they are freed from the hatred in their hearts and that they seek forgiveness with themselves and God. Let our country remain a place of peace and where religious tolerance reigns across our islands,” said the President.

Bishop Harel said that at this moment it is a period of shock and deep sadness that we are all living. “The Cathedral is a deep symbol and she is the mother church of all the churches that has been vandalised. We have been shocked and we will take time to accept this moment of suffering. This sad event has a deep emotional meaning and the people of Seychelles has been touched regardless of their religious beliefs. Many non-Christians have sent their messages to us.”

Bishop Harel explained that right now the Church is under investigation from the Police. “There is no vengeance in our heart, but we need to know who is behind this act. From the church we also have a purification ritual that will need to be done. It is the House of God and His people that are hurt. We do not have to defend God, we just have to love him. I thank Father Alcindor and the team at the Cathedral who immediately attended to the situation.”

Father Alcindor was the one to discover the sad occuring with other volunteers and he said that the disciples are still in shock.

Superintendent Antoine Desnousse explained that the Seychelles Police was informed of the incident around 5.15am yesterday. “We immediately alerted the Central Investigation Division and when we entered the Cathedral, we saw all the statues down, and there was also an attempt to light a fire. We do not know the motives of this act yet, but this is unacceptable. The police have opened an enquiry since this morning.”

Superintendent Desnousse noted it is unfortunate that there are no security cameras around the Cathedral but they are checking the cameras from other nearby buildings.

“We are collecting all the information from different sources and we have to make sure that such despicable acts do not repeat themselves. It is only after arresting the culprits that we will know the motives behind these acts.”

Superintendent Desnousse said that it pains to see such acts happening in our country. “We are urging the population to help us find the culprits and to give us maximum information by calling 133 and all information will be confidential. The Seychelles Police warns the public that these acts are not acceptable and will not be tolerated as in Seychelles we do respect each other’s faith.”

Seychelles NATION immediately went on the scene and updated our readers via our Facebook page. Our newspaper strongly condemns these acts as we believe in unity in diversity and in tolerance. May we all pray so that this situation does not repeat itself!

The accompanying photos show some of the damage done inside the church and President Ramkalawan during his visit there.

Vidya Gappy/ Press release from State House

Photos by Louis Toussaint