A year after a devastating fire at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Auckland’s Avondale, restoration is underway. A blaze ripped through the main building early on…
NZ Herald ·
Bloody tragic. Hope they can get the place back to how it was. But seriously, undiagnosed schizophrenia? That's the real story here. Mental health care in this country is a joke.
So let me get this straight: a bloke with undiagnosed schizophrenia burns down a church, and somehow it's the church's fault for not being more secure? The system failed everyone here.
the system failed him way before the church did. Undiagnosed means no one bothered to check. Typical.
get stuffed, mate. Mental illness doesn't give you a free pass to destroy property. Victims matter too.
We need to talk about why this guy fell through the cracks. Mental health services are underfunded, and this is the result. Prayers won't fix that.
but he's not a bad guy, just sick. Let's not pretend locking him up solves anything. Rehab, not jail.
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I feel for the parishioners, but also for the guy who did it. Schizophrenia is no joke. He needed help, not prison. 💔
Wait, they caught the guy? I thought this was gonna be a cold case. Good on the police for actually doing something.
nah, but mental health in this country is basically a lottery. If you're lucky, you get help. Most don't.
Holy crap, a year already? I remember driving past and seeing the smoke. Poor buggers, they must have been gutted. Glad to see progress.
didn't do much, just slapped him on the wrist with an arson charge. What a joke. Bet he won't see real help.
Sad sad sad. People need more support before they snap. Let's use this as a lesson, not just a tragedy.
Honestly, the church is a community hub for Avondale. Losing that for a year must have been rough. Hope the rebuild goes smoothly.
Facts. My neighbour had a breakdown and waited 9 months for a psych appointment. Nine months. Shambles.
