Ukrainian church in Sudbury, Ont., vandalized with Russian 'Z'

St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Sudbury was vandalized over the weekend with the letter Z spray painted in three places outside the building.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the letter has adorned Russian tanks and has become a symbol of support for the country's cause.

Father Peter Bodnar, the church's pastor, said he and his parishioners were devastated by the act of vandalism.

"This is, you know, a very profound statement of hatred," Bodnar said. "Here in Canada, you know, in Sudbury, in our community, that should have no place."

Bodnar said about 30 per cent of his parishioners have friends and family in Ukraine, who have been affected by the conflict.

"So it is a painful experience, you know, and this just adds more and more pain and suffering to those people," he said.

Bodnar said they discovered a large Z spray painted on a wall near the church's parking lot on Sunday. After a church service on Sunday, which included faith leaders from 14 communities across Greater Sudbury, they discovered two more Zs painted over commemorative plaques outside the building.

Bodnar said they reported the vandalism to police on Monday morning.

Greater Sudbury Police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn confirmed police received a call that morning "regarding a hate-bias incident involving mischief at a local church on Notre Dame Avenue."

Dunn said a police investigation is ongoing.

Bodnar said the church has security cameras, but they were out of commission that week due to a faulty hard drive. By Monday morning he received a new hard drive to get the cameras working again.

"Maybe there's a sign from God to tell us, you know, to pray for those people who did this because they're not in the right place in their hearts and their souls," he said.

Bodnar said if he had the chance to speak with the people responsible for the vandalism, he would tell them it's a choice to choose hate or love.

He added that despite the incident, the church has received support from all faiths in the region, and hosted an interfaith prayer ceremony for the people of Ukraine two weeks ago.