Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Cap-Haitien, Haiti / Rotorhead 30A Productions/Shutterstock
ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 22, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
Amid the violence racking the country, the Haitian Bishops’ Conference has issued a letter to the faithful that recalls Isaiah’s prophecy: “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise” (Is 60:18).
Based on this hope for a country without violence, the prelates this week issued an urgent call for the end of the widespread violence and for the active search for peace and national reconciliation.
In the letter, the prelates expressed their profound concern over the murders, the settling of scores, witch hunts, looting, and other acts of violence going on that have plunged the country into a major humanitarian crisis.
“This dream of a country without violence makes us raise our voices to call for an end to the acts that aim to reduce Haiti to ruins and ashes,” the 10 bishops of Haiti stated.
“The current situation fills us with pain and concern. It is an urgent call for reflection and action,” they stressed.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that from March 8–14, a total of 16,947 people left the capital due to increasing armed attacks and widespread insecurity.
These people have sought refuge in the provinces, especially in the departments of the Grand Sud region — Grand’Anse, Nippes, South, and Southeast — facing the risk of traveling along routes controlled by gangs. According to the IOM report, the southern region is already home to more than 116,000 people, most of whom have fled the capital in recent months.
Adding to the security crisis is political instability following the resignation last week of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who left office without calling general elections, as well as the lack of food, health care, and drinking water, among other needs.
The bishops “encouraged “the efforts of all sectors and all the vital forces of the nation with a view to finding a solution to the current crisis and restoring peace and security for all the sons and daughters of the Haitian nation, by providing the country with a form of inclusive transitional government.”
However, religious leaders have also made it clear that their prophetic mission does not allow them to actively participate in politics and, therefore, they have not “appointed anyone to represent the Catholic Church in the Presidential Council or in any government structure.”
In line with Pope Francis, who recently expressed his closeness to the Haitian people, the bishops also called on the international community to provide its support in these difficult times.
“May the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we invoke in Haiti under the name of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, come to our aid and may, through her intercession, God raise us up and deliver us from evil,” the bishops concluded.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Pope Francis speaks at the 50th annual Social Week of Catholics in Trieste, Italy, on the morning of July 7, 2024. At his arrival in the northern Italian city, he was greeted by Archbishop Luigi Renna, president of the organizing committee (R), and Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, president of the Italian bishops’ conference (L). / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Jul 7, 2024 / 08:06 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday urged Catholics to share their faith in the public square, and to combat political polarization by supporting person-centered democracy.
“Let us not be fooled by easy solutions. Let us instead get passionate about the common good,” he said at a Catholic conference on democracy in the northern Italian city of Trieste July 7.
Francis participated in the last morning of the 50th Social Week of Catholics, an annual meeting of the Catholic Church in Italy aimed at promoting the social doctrine of the Church. The theme of the July 3-7 congress was “At the Heart of Democracy: Participate between History and the Future.”
In his speech, the pope spoke strongly of the importance of democracy — encouraging participation over partisanship, and comparing ideologies to “seductresses.”
“As Catholics, on this horizon, we cannot be satisfied with a marginal or private faith,” the pope said before around 1,200 conference participants at the Generali Convention Center. “This means not so much to be heard, but above all to have the courage to make proposals for justice and peace in the public debate.”
“We have something to say, but not to defend privileges. No. We need to be a voice, a voice that denounces and proposes in a society that is often mute and where too many have no voice.”
“This is political love,” Francis underlined, adding that “it is a form of charity that allows politics to live up to its responsibilities and get out of polarizations, these polarizations that impoverish and do not help understand and address the challenges.”
The Social Week of Catholics congress was held in Trieste, a port city located on a narrow strip of Italian territory in the country’s far northeastern point, bordered by the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia.
Pope Francis arrived in Trieste by helicopter from the Vatican in the early morning July 7. After addressing congress delegates from across Italy, he met briefly with representatives of other Christian traditions and with a group of immigrants and people with disabilities.
The pope then celebrated Mass for an estimated 8,500 Catholics in Trieste’s Unità d’Italia Square before again boarding a helicopter to return to the Vatican.
In speaking about the Christian vision of democracy, the pontiff quoted a 1988 pastoral note from the Italian bishops, which said democracy is meant, “to give meaning to everyone’s commitment to the transformation of society; to give attention to the people who remain outside or on the margins of winning economic processes and mechanisms; to give space to social solidarity in all its forms; to give support to the return of a solicitous ethic of the common good […]; to give meaning to the development of the country, understood […] as an overall improvement in the quality of life, collective coexistence, democratic participation, and authentic freedom.”
“This vision, rooted in the Social Doctrine of the Church,” Pope Francis said, applies “not only to the Italian context, but represent a warning for the whole of human society and for the journey of all peoples.”
“In fact, just as the crisis of democracy cuts across different realities and nations, in the same way the attitude of responsibility towards social transformations is a call addressed to all Christians, wherever they find themselves living and working, in every part of the world,” he added.
The pope also emphasized the importance of combating a culture of waste, as exhibited by a self-referential power “incapable of listening and serving people.”
He recalled the importance of the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity and condemned a certain attitude of “welfare-ism” that does not recognize the dignity of people, calling it “social hypocrisy.”
“Everyone must feel part of a community project; no one must feel worthless,” he said.
The Four Courts in Dublin, the principal seat of Ireland’s High Court. / Ralf Houven (CC BY 3.0).
Dublin, Ireland, Jun 29, 2021 / 05:35 am (CNA).
An Irish politician called for a public inquiry as a couple settled their High Court actions after … […]
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from behind a window in the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Feb 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
The Comboni Sisters have been living on the border of East Jerusalem since 1967. Running along the border of their property is a wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya — renowned as the site of the resurrection of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the Palestinian side, on the other side of the wall.
“For us, the passage from Scripture that says ‘in Christ the wall of separation between peoples has been broken down’ is very powerful [Eph 2:14], especially when there is a physical wall in front of us that clearly indicates this separation,” Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial councilor and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters, told CNA.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella, provincial council and coordinator of the Middle East Zone for the Comboni Sisters. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Sgaramella arrived in Jerusalem for the first time on Sept. 26, 2000. The very next day, the second intifada — a major uprising by Palestinians against Israeli occupation — erupted. She witnessed the siege of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where she taught theology.
Later, she was transferred to Egypt, where in 2011, she witnessed the uprising known as the “Arab Spring.”
Since 2013, Sgaramella has permanently returned to Jerusalem and now faces another long and bloody conflict. “I have always been struck by the deep sense of hope and determination to move forward among the Palestinian people. With this war, I see it weaker; people are more exhausted,” she said.
A view of the separation wall between Israel and the Palestinian Territories from the terrace of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem. The wall, constructed by the Israelis in 2009, runs along the border of their property, dividing the village of Bethany/al-Eizariya in two, believed to be the site of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. The sisters’ residence remains on the Israeli side, while the church and the tomb of Lazarus are on the other side of the wall. Credit: Marinella Bandini
There are currently six Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem and each is involved in a specific ministry. They usually come together for morning Mass and evening vespers as well as for meetings and reflection. Their community house is open to religious individuals seeking periods of study or discernment and serves as a center of spirituality for both the congregation and the local Church. The sisters host educational workshops and spiritual exercises as well as welcome pilgrims.
The Comboni Sisters in Jerusalem in a recent photo at the Jordan River. The Comboni Sisters’ community in Jerusalem currently consists of six sisters and each is involved in a specific ministry. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella
Sgaramella shared with CNA what it’s like to live on the border.
“With the construction of the wall, we found ourselves in the middle, between Palestinians and Israelis,” she explained. “The Palestinians attempt to bypass the wall — especially to pray at the Dome of the Rock — while the Israelis try to repel them in an endless game.”
“Being in the middle is a physical position that has also become a spiritual one,” Sgaramella continued. “We had to reflect and decided to ‘stay in the middle,’ between these two peoples, to serve as a bridge between them. By placing ourselves in the middle, we listen to the injustice faced by the Palestinians and also to the fears of Israeli families.”
For this reason, the religious community has chosen to maintain a small presence in the Palestinian area. Two sisters reside in an apartment beyond the wall, about 100 feet from the Comboni Sisters’ residence.
The exterior of the Comboni Sisters’ house in East Jerusalem where the Comboni Sisters have been living since 1967. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“We desired to stay and share the lives of those people and accompany the small remaining Christian community there. Every time they need to reach the community, they have to travel 18 kilometers [about 11 miles] passing through the Israeli checkpoint,” Sgaramella explained.
The sisters do not do this simply in the spirit of altruism, explained Sgaramella, who is also involved in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. “We understood from the beginning that being in the middle comes at a cost. It often means getting hit from both sides. On one hand, there are stones and Molotov cocktails from the Palestinians that land on our property; on the other hand, we are under the smoke of tear gas launched in response by the Israelis,” she said.
One incident happened the night of Oct. 6, just hours before the Hamas attack on Israel. Some Molotov cocktails landed on the synthetic grass in the part of the property that houses the kindergarten, causing a fire — the signs of which are still visible today. The fire destroyed the grass, playground equipment, and blackened the recently painted wall.
The exterior of the kindergarten, housed on the Comboni Sisters’ property. In the background is the separation wall that was erected on the edge of the Comboni Sisters’ property in 2009.
The kindergarten is a work that the Comboni Sisters have been carrying out since their arrival and today it serves as an important point of connection with the surrounding community. This significance has grown, especially after the construction of the wall.
“The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, neither with the wall nor with the war,” said Sgaramella, who is the director. The kindergarten is attended by approximately 40 children, all of whom are Muslims, divided into two classes. Formally, it is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Ministry of Education. “It is a project that meets the needs of the people; furthermore, episodes of violence never occur during the day when the children are present,” she added.
Sister Anna Maria Sgaramella of the Comboni Sisters talks with the children in one of the kindergarten classes hosted at their home in East Jerusalem. The presence of the kindergarten has never been questioned, said Sgaramella, the director. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Every morning, the children begin with a prayer. “We tell the parents right from the start,” Sgaramella explained. “It’s a prayer of thanksgiving for what God has created, for the day, for life, a blessing for parents, neighbors, friends, and also for children who suffer. We pray for peace in the world and in this country.”
Regarding the families, she shared: “There is great trust and respect. They usually choose to send their children here, especially for moral education and English-language instruction.”
Most of the children come from East Jerusalem, but some also come from al-Eizariya. One of the two teachers, Nihal Hashmime, who is also the vice director, has to pass through the checkpoint every day to get to work.
“With the war,” the sister told CNA, “we faced some educational challenges because initially, some children were absent. The work we do with them is to impart certain values, such as peace, friendship, love, and respect for differences.”
Play is also an important aspect. “Children here do not find toy weapons, and they are not allowed to bring them from home,” Sgaramella said.
“Our attempt in education and all other activities is to break down this wall that leads to seeing the other as an enemy,” Sgaramella said. “Sometimes it is difficult to recognize the universality of salvation. We know that Jesus died for everyone, but in certain conflict-ridden contexts, it is challenging to acknowledge the other as a brother. Personally, the field of teaching theology provides me with the space to build bridges among believers. Because in every religion, there are sincere believers seeking truth.”
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