Armed bands murder two religious in Haiti

The religious Evanette Onezaire and Jeanne Voltaire, of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of Santa Teresa del Niño Jesús, were killed in Haiti by armed bands that continue to sow chaos in several cities of the country.

The news was confirmed on Wednesday by Mons. Max Leroy Mésidor, Archbishop of Puerto Príncipe, to the Pontifical Foundation Help the needy church (ACN), after the media reports on the attack perpetrated by members of a gang coalition known as Live together (Live together).

This group broke on Monday, March 31 in the city of Mirebalais, in the center of Haiti, releasing about 500 prisoners from a prison, invading a police station and burning several homes, although the exact number of affected houses has not yet been required.

According to the Pontifical Institution, when the attack began, the religious “were forced to take refuge with other people in a home. Unfortunately, the attackers discovered their hiding place and murdered the entire group.”

“During this attack there were several murders, including the two sisters of the Local Congregation of the Little Sisters of Santa Teresa del Niño Jesús. All the prisoners have fallen and the bandits occupy the city,” confirmed Monsidor Mésidor.

OK With Celam, The spokesman for the Episcopal Conference of Haiti (CEH), P. Marc Henry Siméon, issued a letter of mourning and conviction, stating that they are “assaulted by the injustice and the absurdity of a world that seems to collapse under the weight of evil.”

Likewise, the CEH reiterated its call to La Razón to “the architects of violence and the workers of the crime; this call also intends to be a call to respect for the life and dignity of this injured people.”

How does violence in the life of the Catholic Church affect?

Haiti continues in an uncontrollable spiral of violence, aggravated with the murder of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. Since then, the country faces a power vacuum, lacks a legitimate elected leadership and suffers the increase in the influence of armed groups that control wide areas of the territory.

Mons. Mésidor regretted that as a result of this situation, life in the temples is also affected. He indicated that “twenty -eight parishes of the archbishopric of Port -au -Prince are closed, while around forty work at a reduced pace due to the control of the bands in their neighborhoods.”

He also reported that “priests have been forced to flee, seeking refuge with their families or other clergy. They need help. The archbishopric is also difficult,” said Monsidor Mésidor to the Pontifical Foundation.

“Here, in Haiti, our Lent is truly being a Calvary, but we offer it in communion with the sufferings of Christ. Haiti is on fire and requires urgent help. Who will come to help us?” He said.