Pope Leo XIV has called for the immediate release of nine hostages, including Irish woman Gena Heraty, saying the situation in Haiti has become “increasingly desperate.”
Ms Heraty, originally from Co Mayo, was taken by a gang with eight others, including a three-year-old child, on August 3rd in Kenscoff, Port-au-Prince.
The missionary aged in her 50s, who has lived in Haiti since 1993, was abducted from the Sainte-Hélène orphanage, which she oversees, run by Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (NPFS, Our Little Brothers and Sisters).
Speaking after the Sunday Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Leo described the circumstances faced by the Haitian people as “increasingly desperate”.
READ MORE
“There are constant reports of murders, violence of all kinds, human trafficking, forced exile, and kidnappings.
“I make a heartfelt appeal to all responsible to release the hostages immediately, and I ask for the concrete support of the international community in creating social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace,” he said.
The abduction comes during a period of crisis in Haiti, where 1.3 million people are displaced by violence.
Earlier this summer, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said this crisis has “plummeted to a new low” as gangs extend their reach, carrying out killings, rapes and kidnappings.
In the first five months of this year, 316 people were kidnapped for ransom, according to United Nations figures, while 2,680 were killed.
It is believed the gang who led the kidnapping of Ms Heraty are associates of the Viv Ansanm group, one of two major crime syndicates in Haiti sanctioned by the United Nations last month.
Contact has previously been made between NPFS and the gang through intermediaries.
Efforts are ongoing to secure the safe return of the hostages with Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris saying last week that different avenues at both political and diplomatic levels “continue to be exhausted”.
