Cardinal Seán Brady Former leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland,
Cardinal Seán Brady resigned from the position as leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and the Vatican accepted his resignation. Cardinal Seán Brady resigned on an account of child sex abuse scandals by clerical and his attempt to hide the case Reuters

A 140-year-old church in Canada was destroyed after a "suspicious" fire had burnt it.

The Anglican Church of St. John the Baptist in Edmundston is being investigated for probable arson. Police said that the fire, which destroyed the historical church, had started under one deck attached to the building. Around 35 people from the fire department dealt with the Saturday fire which looked "suspicious." According to spokesperson Mychèle Poitras, the fire was suspicious primarily because it had started outside the building on an exterior wall, CBC News reported. She also reminded that one more building exactly beside the church had been burnt down a couple of weeks back. Poitras said that police were investigating the earlier incident as well.

The fire department was called at around 4:40 A.M. on Saturday. The fire-fighters battled the fire for around a couple of hours. However, the 140-year-old church could not be saved. "It was burning really hard. The only thing we do know is that it started from outside of the building, can't say much more than that. The building is lost, pretty much. Right now, the fire marshal is on site and he is trying to determine the cause of the fire," Poitras said, "It was a very pretty church and now it's gone, sadly."

The church built in 1873 has been classified to be a historical site since 1991. When the the building caught on fire, nobody was inside. The building, used as a church until burnt, was also used as a centre for Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, according to CTV News. Congregation member Christine Goon said that around 50 families belonged to the Edmundston church. According to her, it was a "big shock" to find the church burnt in fire. The dwindling United and the Anglican congregations Edmundston were merged to form the church, she said.

Did You Know?

A stranger drove a car past Our Lady of Lebanon Church at Harris Park in Australia and threatened to "kill the Christians" and their children as well. According to witnesses, he had a triangular flag which resembled that of the Islamic State. The flag was hanging out of the car window. The incident took place on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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