A statement released by the Holy See Press Office notes that, after praying the Angelus at noon this Sunday, from the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace before some 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Francis asked that “we never forget our Haitian brothers and sisters.”

“I ask everyone to pray for the cessation of all forms of violence and, with the commitment of the international community, to continue working to build peace and reconciliation in that country, always defending the dignity and rights of all,” said the pontiff.

A report published on the website of the Vatican News reports that these words of the Pontiff were motivated by the deterioration of Haitian security, since more than 3,600 people died there per month during the first semester of 2024, a higher number than in the same period of last year.

Currently, many children “are recruited by criminal groups, which now control 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, following the intensification of police operations by multinational and local forces”, the source asserts.

The note cites reports by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), according to which approximately 2.7 million people, including half a million children, are currently forced to live under the control of gangs that continue to cause hundreds of deaths.

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