PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Catholic Bishops of Haiti are urging Haitians not to give in to despair amid “the many tragic events in our history as a people.”
In their annual message heralding the start of the Advent season that culminates with the Christmas celebrations, the Bishops said they felt the need to share with the population a “word of hope” and that the birth of Jesus Christ “ sheds new light on everything we experience today in terms of hopes and joys, misfortunes and suffering.
“It enlightens us and invites us to take charge of our destiny as a nation. Amid the many tragic events in our history as a people, we do not want to let ourselves be defeated or give in to despair.
“In this sense, we stand in solidarity with the suffering of the people and express our sympathies to all those affected directly or indirectly by violence and insecurity during 2023.”
Haiti has been plagued with violence committed mainly by criminal gangs that, according to a United Nations report, are “getting stronger, richer, better armed, and more autonomous.”
The 156-page report from a U.N. experts panel pointed to lucrative arms trafficking, mainly from the United States, that provides gangsters with deadly arsenals.
The report concluded that gangs frequently use rape to terrorize and extort victims, demand money, and control food supplies. They’re also blamed for carrying out indiscriminate killings and hundreds of kidnappings, demanding ransoms as high as $500,000 for foreigners and prominent figures.
In October, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution allowing for the deployment of a multinational force under the leadership of Kenya to Haiti.
Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry, who has been in charge of the interim government following the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovennel Moise, had in the past called on the international community to send in a multinational force to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, a position that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the United States and the wider CARICOM grouping had also supported.
In their message, the Catholic Bishops of Haiti note that the country prepares to celebrate Christmas in a dual context.
“ On the one hand, the context of the dramatic situation of the people, which is getting worse every day with the infernal influence of heavily armed groups, the galloping high cost of living, the distress of young people who are leaving the country, the manifest indifference of the authorities and the stubbornness of political actors who cannot find a saving compromise.
“On the other hand, the context of the Synod of the Church invites us to act differently in Haiti, namely, to listen to each other, to dialogue sincerely, to walk together, to live together, to better discern according to the Holy Spirit the meaning of History and building our Nation together.”
The Bishops said that, like the shepherds who stood watched and stood guard at the birth of Christ, “we strongly urge you to a truly spiritual and civic awakening which must lead us to a deeply personal and collective conversion, to combat fatalism or defeatism as well as the forces of evil which has its imprint on all aspects of our social, political, economic and cultural life.”
They said this awakening would involve the patriotic commitment of everyone to the recovery of Haiti,” adding, “All this will only be possible if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God.”
They said that the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God makes Haitians the children of God and that asking, “Is it not this spirit of brotherhood that paved the way for the founding of our Nation?
“This is what we will celebrate on January 1, 2024, remembering the 220th anniversary of our independence. So it is time to work resolutely to rediscover this fraternity, which is today wounded and torn by internal and fratricidal struggles for power and by the lure of gain, by the politics of division, by systems of unbridled profit, and by the hateful ideological tendencies that manipulate the actions and destiny of our people.
“In the name of this fraternity, we advocate the culture of dialogue as a path, common collaboration as conduct, reciprocal knowledge as a method,” the Bishops said.
They noted that the joy that the Christmas and New Year holidays bring will be even greater “if concrete acts of resolution of the crisis are manifested.
They are calling for “a broad and reasonable consensus between the different protagonists of the crisis, the commitment authorities to restore a climate of peace and stop the illegal trafficking of arms and ammunition, an end to violence, insecurity and impunity, concrete and unequivocal support from the international community for disarmament and the recovery of the country; there are so many premises for the renormalization of the life of the people and the reestablishment of democratic institutions.
”We encourage efforts at dialogue and meetings at whatever level to find a satisfactory solution to this multidimensional crisis,” the Bishops said, adding, “To the Haitian people, to the country’s elites, and all political actors, we say: This is a serious time! ‘Do not harden your heart, but listen to the voice of the Lord.
“ In the spirit of Christmas, be prepared to make sacrifices for the Good of our country. Be true to your resolutions because only “the truth will set you free.”
The Catholic Bishops said that this Christmas, they are inviting Haitians “to Hope, which does not deceive and is nourished in prayer and conversion.
“ The Child-God, who is born in Bethlehem in the most extreme poverty, is there to remind us that his very incarnation marks the beginning of the end of the domination of evil and the forces of darkness in the world.
“With Emmanuel, God-with-us, we can begin to hope again and build a world dominated by the force of Good. With the incarnate Son of God,” The Catholic Bishops said.
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