The Peace and Justice Ministry supports a number of ministries both inside our parish and in our broader community. Part of that support includes active listening to the needs, accomplishments, and challenges of these groups, and often also involves personal commitments of time and donated items to further support their mission of serving others and establishing justice for those they serve.
Friends of Haiti and Haitian student sponsorships have been a foundational supported ministry for many years. In support of our twin parish, Saint Anne’s of Limonade, these activities include education, health care and nutrition efforts. Many parishioners also support individual students in their pursuit of education from primary through professional degrees.
A recent message from Roland Saint-Cyr makes us aware of the uncertainty being faced in light of recent events in Haiti. "Let me tell you that the community of Limonade is living like the one of Cap-Haitian; mostly they have the same concerns. Last week, the day before the President’s funeral it was not easy in the area of Limonade because some protestors blocked the road to Cap and one man was shot that day because he did not accept that protestors checked his backpack . Since the death of the president Jovenel, everyone expects some event but no one knows what it can be and when it can happen."
"Limonade just celebrated a St. Ann feast, 45 priests attended the mass. Usually there used to have more priests but the political situation plus the covid impeded the other ones. Even pilgrims were not as many as before."
Recently, Haiti received its first vaccine doses, many months after the rest of the world began to vaccinate their populations. The White House told Faith In Action that the United States would be shipping 500,000 doses of Moderna vaccines to Haiti. Faith In Action thanks everyone who has spoken out on this issue over the past month and encouraged others to stand with the Haitian people. Your voices matter.
"These first vaccines will be especially welcome to health care workers. Haiti has now received enough doses to vaccinate approximately two percent of its population. So we know our work is far from over!"
Also from Faith In Action, "As we all try to process the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in Haiti, we wanted to share what we are learning and doing, and what you can do concretely to make a difference. We’ve been checking in daily with Florcie Tyrell, who leads OPODNE (Organisation Peuple Ecuménique pour le Developpment du Nord-Est) in Northeast Haiti, to make sure she and her staff and volunteer leaders are safe and ask how we can support their organizing during one of the most difficult periods in Haitian history."
"In the years before President Jovenel was killed he dissolved Parliament, canceled local elections, and worked with criminal gangs to repress opposition. Despite calls by civil society and Catholic and Protestant religious leaders for Moise to leave office when his term ended in February, he continued to rule by decree, with support from the U.S. and other countries."
"Just this week Diego Charles, an investigative journalist and Antoinette Duclair, a human rights activist were assassinated in Port-au-Prince, along with more than a dozen other people struggling for democracy. Everyday Haitians have increasingly faced violence and kidnapping. The fear is that the assassination of Moïse will lead to even more violence and insecurity."
"Earlier this year, as conditions deteriorated in Haiti, we launched A Way Forward in Haiti to lift up the voice of Haitian diaspora faith communities and allies to change U.S. policy toward Haiti. You can read more about how we’re working with the Congressional Haiti Caucus and organizations in Haiti and the diaspora to push the Biden Administration to support a broad inclusive transitional government in Haiti."
"Haiti is the only country in the Western Hemisphere and only one of five in the world still waiting for vaccines. What gives me hope amid so much violence and uncertainty is knowing OPODNE is carrying forward a long Haitian tradition of people working together for survival and self-determination. Here are three concrete ways you can support that work:
- Call on President Biden to send vaccines directly to Haiti and share it with people you know.
- Call your Congressperson and tell them you want the U.S. Government to change its policy toward Haiti and support a broad inclusive transitional government."
Please see Faith In Action for more ways to assist:
https://faithinactioninternational.org/where-we-work/
Let us pause and reflect on the blessings we enjoy in our faith community, the blessings of freedom, meaningful work, good health and the access to health care, and our daily meals that sustain us. Our efforts to provide for those less fortunate is an honor and privilege, and it is our duty as Catholic Christians and as citizens.
