(ZENIT News / Port-au-Prince, 07.27.2024).- A priest in Haiti has described how clergy – dedicated to helping people in desperate need – are being targeted by gangs for calling out injustices.
Many parishes have been forced to close and Church workers have been kidnapped as 80 percent of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince is ruled by criminal gangs, Father Baudelarie Martial told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The Haitian priest from the Congregation of Holy Cross said: “The situation in Port-au-Prince is unacceptable, intolerable and inconceivable.
“We live in very precarious conditions. People are hungry and there is a shortage of medication.”
Father Martial added that there appears to be “an organised campaign against the Church because we have seen so many priests and religious fall victim to these gangs”.
He explained: “Many dioceses and communities have suffered from theft and aggression.
“This is how they pressure the Church into silence, but our prophetic mission requires us to call out what is evil.”
He added: “We know that this is a risky position, but that is our cross, and we accept it.
“As a Church, we must have the faith and the strength to accompany the people and all those who suffer, and we will continue to do so, even at risk to our own lives.”
Father Martial highlighted that “people’s faith remains alive” and large crowds are attending Mass “despite the danger” in the parishes that remain open.
He added that the Church is also “offering pastoral support online”.
He stressed: “As pastors of our people, we try to keep hope alive…Fortunately, the Church is there to support the people.
“Some people are traumatised, and have suffered serious injury or abuse, but, as time goes by, the shock diminishes.”
He added that the Church “cannot surrender…we have to keep moving forward and bestowing hope”.
Reflecting on his vocation, Father Martial said: “As a priest, my role is to bear witness.
“This crisis is also an opportunity to love and support, especially those who are facing difficulties and the needy.”
He concluded by expressing his gratitude to ACN’s benefactors: “Thanks to your help, the Haitian Church can still carry out its prophetic role.
“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, because without ACN, the calamity in Haiti would be even worse, and without the [charity]’s support the situation of the seminarians would be even darker. A million thanks.”
ACN funded 55 projects in Haiti amounting to £700,000 (€828,000) in 2023.
The charity’s assistance included support for the formation of seminarians, Mass stipends, and subsistence aid and training for religious orders.
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