Pope Francis on July 11, 2021, appealed for an end to violence in Haiti, a poor nation rocked this week by the assassination of its president the wounding of his wife.
The Holy Father’s appeal came after praying the noonday Angelus with the faithful gather outside Gemelli Hospital, where he is recovering from colon surgery performed on July 4. Pope Francis spoke from the 10th-floor balcony to a crowd of the faithful gathered below.
“In recent days my prayer has often been aimed at Haiti, following the assassination of its President and the wounding of his wife,” the Pope said. “I join in the heartfelt appeal of the country’s Bishops to ‘lay down weapons, choose life, choose to live together fraternally in the interest of all and in the interest of Haiti’. I am close to the beloved Haitian people; I hope that the spiral of violence will cease and the nation can resume the journey toward a future of peace and harmony.”
The Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin sent a telegram of sympathy, in Pope Francis’ name, to the Apostolic Nunciature in Haiti, following the assassination on July 7, 2021, of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
“On hearing the news of the atrocious assassination of which H.E. Mr. Jovenel Moïse was victim, His holiness Pope Francis expresses his condolences to the Haitian people and to his wife, also gravely wounded, whose life he commends to God,” reads the text.
“While he prays to the Father of Mercy for the repose of the soul of the deceased, the Holy Father expresses his sadness and condemns all forms of violence as means to resolve crises and conflicts.”
Pope Francis also “wishes the dear Haitian people a future of fraternal concord, solidarity, and prosperity” and “in a sign of consolation, invokes an abundance of divine blessings upon Haiti and all its inhabitants.”
So far seventeen ex Colombian soldiers and two US Haitians have been arrested, while three men were shot dead, Vatican News reported. Eight are still on the run. Investigators are trying to discover just who was the attack, apparently aimed at overthrowing Haiti’s government.
Haitian Officials have appealed to the United Nations and the United States to send peacekeeping troops to help stabilize the volatile situation which has descended into a crisis. UN Peace Keepers were previously stationed in Haiti from 2004 to 2017. The US says it will not send troops, but it will send members of the FBI and Homeland Security.
