Six nuns from the congregation of Sainte Anne were kidnapped on January 19. Pope Francis asked this Sunday all national and international actors to “end the violence in Haiti”.
Christians once again victims of persecution. On January 19, six nuns were kidnapped in Haiti while traveling on a bus to the capital Port-au-Prince, reports the Italian agency Ansa . These women belong to the congregation of Saint Anne. Mgr Pierre-André Dumas, bishop of Anse-à-Veau, denounced the kidnapping, calling it “hateful”, and offered himself as hostage in place of the six nuns.
[#Haiti ]❗️ Six religieuses de la Congrégation des Sœurs de Ste Anne ont été kidnappées hier soir.
— AEDFrance (@AEDenFrance) January 20, 2024
🙏L'AED se joint à l'appel de la Conférence haïtienne des religieux qui demande à chacun de prier pour elles et leur libération. pic.twitter.com/ti8iDc0uD9
Pray “for social harmony”
During the Angelus this Sunday, January 21, Pope Francis expressed his “pain” over the kidnapping of the nuns . He asked for their release, and called for prayers “for social harmony” in this country. Following this event, the head of the Catholic Church urged all national and international actors to “put an end to the violence in Haiti”, emphasizing how much it caused much suffering to its “dear population”. “Let us feel the responsibility to pray and build peace for them! “, he also declared.
As during every general audience and every Angelus in recent months, the pope also prayed for peace in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, as well as for all populations affected by war. “It is always the weakest who suffer,” he insisted, warning of the fate of “the many children injured and killed” or “deprived of affection, dreams and future”.