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The situation of the church in Haiti
2010 was a disastrous year for Haiti. On the 10th of January an earthquake of magnitude 7 struck the island. Not only did it bring down the presidential palace and the headquarters of the UN mission in Port-au-Prince, but the Catholic cathedral and most of the parish churches and parish centres also collapsed, burying many people under the rubble. Thousands died, while others were dragged from the rubble with bare hands. Within minutes hundreds of thousands were left homeless and without adequate food or water. Earlier estimates by the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Bernardito Auza put the death toll at anything up to 300,000 people, among whom were Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot of Port-au-Prince, together with seven diocesan priests, 31 seminarians and 30 other religious brothers or sisters. Also among the victims was Zilda Arns, the founder of the Brazilian children's charity the "Pastoral da Criança". Roughly 65% of Haiti's nine million plus inhabitants are Catholics.
The general situation in Haiti concerning the freedom of religion
The Haitian Constitution guarantees freedom of worship on condition that religious practices do not disturb public order or go against the Law. The government generally respects this right. The monitoring of religious affairs is the responsibility of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Religion. In Haiti there is still a significant number of people who practise voodoo rituals, also among those who describe themselves as Catholics.
On 21st July 2006, a Franciscan monk, Father Cesare Humberto Flores, and a young postulant, were kidnapped for ransom in Haiti, near Port Au Prince where their convent is situated. The monks were released two days later. As reported by Vatican Radio, in spite of requests, no ransom was paid for their release; rather it was obtained thanks to intense negotiations. The group of kidnappers were persuaded, it seems, by pressure applied by the government and also by various religious groups active in Port au Prince. The scourge of kidnapping in this Caribbean country has been unresolved for a long time, and is certainly not seen as an encouraging sign for newly-elected President René Préval, who came to power in May 2006 promising to reduce poverty and bring security to the country. Haiti has a special police unit for freeing those who are kidnapped and for avoiding further events of this kind. However, in spite of the presence of over 2000 UN soldiers, the government has still not managed to re-establish security in the country. The Haitian bishops have repeatedly spoken out, warning about the public order situation in the country. In their pastoral letter for Advent, in December 2006, the President was not spared any criticism. According to data provided by a local human rights organisation, in the course of 2006 there were 150 kidnappings and over 700 murders in this country. Meanwhile the economic situation on the island continues to get worse, producing a general climate of widespread insecurity.
How you can help
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports several projects in Haiti. You can support these projects by donating via their national offices.
Below you can find one or more finished projects ACN supported in the past.
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When the earthquake struck, Rafael Mendez, the technical expert for the Catholic radio station „Radio Soleil“ acted immediately. At the time he happened to be in the Dominican Republic, and was thus able to bring in some essential equipment from there to Haiti and so patch up the damaged radio station. Thanks to his quick thinking and with the help of a generator and inverter provided by the Vatican nunciature, „Radio Soleil“ was able to continue broadcasting a message of hope. Read more >>
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The Haitian Bishops conference has embarked on a major project, one that it believes will be a source of hope for the suffering people of Haiti. On a new site they are planning to build a brand new major seminary. The old seminary of „Notre Dame d’Haiti“, together with the two departments for theology and philosophy, was destroyed in the earthquake. Read more >>
Statistics
Population: 8.60 Million
Christian Population: 8.20 Million
Religious statistics:
Affiliated Christians 95.8%
Spiritists 2.5%
Other 1.7%
Breaking News from Haiti
- 25/02/2011: Haiti: „The fact that I survived the earthquake shows me that God still needs me“
- 12/01/2011: Haïti: New hope, despite the many problems.
- 22/12/2010: ACN at Christmas : Tidings of comfort - for the world
Haiti - An urgent cry for help
Haiti - A fragile hope
The Haiti Earthquake: The largest natural disaster since the Tsunami
The Haiti Earthquake: The largest natural disaster since the Tsunami