The archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth is offering a reward of $5,000 for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for trashing a historic Irish-Catholic cemetery in Halifax.
Dr. Brian O’Brien, chair of the Holy Cross Restoration Group, admits it’s an unorthodox approach, but a signal of how serious it considers the crime.
There's also been talk of taking more steps to protect the cemetery.
“We had a security meeting with a number of interested parties,” said Cathy Driscoll-Cainen, archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth. “We're looking at lighting and those kinds of things to make it safer in the cemetery.”
As many as 70 headstones at Holy Cross Cemetery were targeted by vandals on Dec. 7, with some of the graves damaged beyond repair.
The Saint Mary's Huskies football team was among the scores of people who came to help repair the cemetery once word got out.
O’Brien says the relief efforts are ahead of schedule.
“We did a couple of months-worth of work with that group that showed-up that Saturday,” said O’Brien.
There’s still plenty of work to do, but most will have to wait until spring.
Halifax police say the investigation is ongoing, but they don’t have any leads.
“Once again, we reach out to the public: if anyone knows anything, we would appreciate assistance," said Const. Diane Woodworth of Halifax Regional Police.
O'Brien, whose group spent eight years restoring the cemetery, is pleased the church is standing by its convictions and paying cash for the conviction of others.
He's also happy security may be beefed up, preventing future problems.
"In everybody's life there's a little darkness, but if you're patient enough, if you work at it, there's some sunshine afterwards," said O’Brien.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko.
