Priests Abducted in Haiti
Five priests, two religious sisters and three laypeople were recently abducted in Haiti. Aid to the Church in Need spoke with a local Haitian bishop about the situation on the Caribbean island.
By ACN Staff
Political unrest in Haiti. (Credit: Digital Democracy)
On Sunday the 11th of April, five priests, two religious sisters and three laypeople in Haiti were abducted from the town of Croix-des-Bouquets, which is close to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Haiti is without doubt the poorest country in the Americas. The security situation on the Caribbean island has deteriorated in recent years. Abduction by criminal gangs are very frequent amidst ongoing political tensions relating to a dispute over the president attempting to extend his time in office.
Bishop Jean Désinord. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spoke with Bishop Jean Désinord of the Diocese of Hinche in Haiti about his reaction to the abductions. The bishop explained that this is a worrying development as priest had previously been relatively safe from abduction:
“We are wondering who will be next? Will it be me or a brother priest? The priests and religious are truly in danger of psychosis. We are living in constant fear…Last year a priest and a religious sister were abducted. Thanks be to God, they were both freed later…But there is no quick or easy solution to the problem of such wanton abductions. The Church can only appeal to our political leaders to guarantee law and order.”
The most likely motivation for the abduction is criminality. Gangs can get ransoms for the abductions, which are common in Haiti. Criminality is currently rampant across much of Haiti. It is also possible as described by Bishop Désinord that there may have been political motivation in the kidnapping. Politicians in Haiti frequently have connections to criminal gangs and the Church has spoken against various political actors in the past. The bishop elaborates further:
“The Church in Haiti has a prophetic mission. She has to denounce the terrible conditions. And so it is quite possible that she is a thorn in the side of some of these politicians. But we can‘t know for sure…But everybody knows that our politicians make use of criminal gangs to control certain areas. The boundary between organised crime and politics is quite fluid.”
The bishop was touched by the Pope specifically expressing his closeness with the Haitian people during the Easter address. The bishop said:
“We were very touched by that. We were truly surprised that the Holy Father gave so much time to us during his Urbi et Orbi allocution and mentioned Haiti in so much detail. It is an encouragement to us to know that the Pope is so close to our people.”
The Seminary of Notre Dame in Haiti. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
The bishop also thanks ACN’s benefactors for their support:
“Thank you for your closeness and your generosity. ACN is standing by us at this difficult moment in our history. Please continue to support ACN and show us your Christian solidarity in this way.”
In 2020, ACN supported over 30 projects in Haiti with over €550,000. These projects were aimed at helping the Church carrying out Her mission in Haiti. The projects included the purchase and maintenance of vehicles to allow priests to minister to isolated communities and provision of catechetical material to help instruct the people in the Faith.
If you would like to help ACN in countries like Haiti please consider making a donation, and please join us in prayer with the Holy Father for the people of Haiti.