The Haitian Conference of Religious has strongly denounced “attacks on church institutions, which are being looted and desecrated by heavily armed individuals who attack humble people that do nothing else but serve the entire population, especially the poorest”.
The conference expressed “deep pain” about the “dizzying situation of chaos in which our beautiful people live today” adding that it is “with indignation that we note how sons and daughters of the country attack private and state property without scruple and endanger the lives of others who seem to have no value in their eyes”.
As criminal gangs extend their control over much of Port-au-Prince, a Spiritan seminary in Haiti’s capital was targeted on 1 April. Armed men invaded the Petit Séminaire Collège Saint Martial vandalising property and stealing electronic devices. Four priests and employees managed to escape and hide in a nearby cathedral.
Already this year, at least 14 priests and religious brothers and sisters are being held for ransom. A UN report says more than 1,500 people have been killed by gang violence over the same period.
From Haiti, Scalabrinian Fr Agler Cherizier said last week that besides the insecurity crisis, “there is also a humanitarian crisis that reaches a scale similar to that we usually see in armed conflicts, with more than three million Haitians suffering deep humanitarian needs”.
A political power vacuum has allowed gangs to seize control of much of the capital. Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor of Port-au-Prince and president of the Haitian Bishops’ Conference told Aid to the Church in Need: “Kidnappings occur ubiquitously. Fear pervades everyone, including the clergy. The factions even infiltrate churches to abduct congregants.”
Haiti’s ten bishops have called for the establishment of an inclusive transitional government to guarantee national unity, stressing that all Haitian society should support the “dream of a country without violence”.
The chronic lack of basic services and public security has driven growing numbers of Haitians to try and leave the country. Attention has been drawn to this by the Latin American Bishops’ Conference, along with the Confederation of Latin American Religious and Latin American Caritas in their pre-Easter letter.
They said that in recent weeks, “The social and humanitarian situation has worsened enormously.” They backed the Haitian bishops’ plea to end the violence.
Loading ...
