Haiti’s Bishops condemned and deplored “the assassination of the country’s President, Jovenel Moïse, yesterday, July 7, 2021, in an attack that also wounded his wife, Martine Moïse.
In a note signed by Monsignor Launay Saturné, President of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, in the aftermath of this “inadmissible and repugnant assassination,” the Episcopate expressed “its sincere condolences to the parents and friends of the presidential couple,” praying for the peaceful repose of the deceased and the speedy recovery of his wife.
Pope’s Condolences for Killing of Haitian President
The country’s recent history has been marked by “the deliberate choice of violence carried out for some time by sectors of the population, as a method of survival and resolution of conflicts,” stated the text.
Violence Leads to Hatred
In its message, the Episcopal Conference stressed that “violence only engenders violence and leads to hatred,” and this is an attitude that “will never help our country to come out of this political impasse, which can only be resolved through dialogue, consensus, a spirit of compromise for the higher interests of the nation and for the common good of the country.”
In face of the present situation, the Prelates invite “all the country’s sons and daughters to overcome their personal pride and group interests to find together, around a table, the Haitian solution so hoped for by the population, dictated by love of Haiti and our values as a people.” To do so, they appealed: “Lay down your arms! Opt for life! Choose, finally, fraternal coexistence in the interest of all and in the interest of Haiti!”
Finally, they asked for Jesus’ help and the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Patroness and Protectress of the country, to “free Haiti from the bonds of hatred and evil.”
The Events
Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in an attack early Wednesday morning on his private residence, in which the First Lady was also wounded by a bullet, reported in a press release the interim Prime Minister, Claude Joseph. According to Europa Press Agency, hours later it became known that the Haitian President received 12 shots in different parts of his body, which was taken to a mortuary accompanied by his daughter, Jomarly Moïse, who escaped the shooting.
Moïse’s wife was taken to a hospital in Florida, the United States. Haiti’s Prime Minister said that the First Lady is out of danger and that her condition “is stable.”
Later, the same Agency reported that Haiti’s Secretary of Communication said that Haiti’s Police had seized the President’s “alleged assassins” and Police sources asserted that four of the alleged assassins were killed and two others were arrested.
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
