The Holy See has reiterated the Church’s closeness to the people of Haiti, reaffirming its constant support for efforts to promote peace and stability in the violence-ridden nation.
By Devin Watkins
The Organization of American States (OAS) held a meeting in Washington, DC, on August 20 to present a roadmap for Haiti, which has endured a cycle of unending gang violence for over four years.
On July 7, 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his residence in Port-au-Prince, and powerful gangs have wreaked havoc on the country since then, at times controlling over 85 percent of the capital.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, and over 5,000 were killed in 2024 alone.
The OAS Secretary General, Albert Ramdin, presented the document on Wednesday entitled “Towards a Haitian-Led Roadmap for Stability and Peace with Regional and International Support.”
The roadmap offers a path for American nations to support Haiti by linking immediate stabilization with long-term structural reforms, in coordination with the Haitian leadership, according to the OAS’ website.
Msgr. Juan Antonio Cruz Serrano, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the OAS, spoke at the presentation, saying the Holy See welcomes efforts to resolve the “grave security and institutional crisis in that Caribbean country.”
He said the roadmap seeks to respond to the “profound and dramatic situation that Haiti is going through, with both sociopolitical and humanitarian dimensions, characterized in particular by persistent insecurity, endemic poverty, and the violence of armed groups.”
Msgr. Cruz recalled Pope Leo XIV’s appeal on August 10 for the Haitian people, who are subjected to constant threats of murder, violence, human trafficking, forced exile, and kidnapping.
“I make an urgent appeal to all those responsible to immediately release the hostages,” said the Pope, “and I ask for concrete support from the international community to create the social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace.”
At the same time, Msgr. Cruz recalled that the Bishops of Haiti released a statement on July 23, in which they sounded the alarm about the collapse of Haitian society and denounced all acts that degrade human dignity.
“We are witnessing the breakdown of society and the decay of the institutions that support it”, said the Haitian Bishops, saying that the government no longer “ensures security, justice, or even the basic necessities of life for its people.”
In his speech at the OAS, Msgr. Cruz reassured the Holy See’s willingness to collaborate in any way possible to find a path to peace for the people of Haiti.
“The Holy See,” he concluded, “reiterates its closeness to the Haitian people and reaffirms its constant support for efforts to promote peace and stability.”
