The violence in one of the most troubled regions of Mexico led to a temporary parish closure. / Credit: Shutterstock
ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 10, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Bishop Cristóbal Ascencio García of the Diocese of Apatzingán in Mexico, one o… […]
People walk by the entrance of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Anne in Port-au-Prince, Jan. 22, 2024. Eight people, including six nuns, were kidnapped Jan. 19 in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, according to the country’s association of religious orders, amid an ongoing upswing in abductions. / Credit: RICHARD PIERRIN/AFP via Getty Images
Rome Newsroom, Jan 25, 2024 / 11:00 am (CNA).
The six Haitian religious sisters who were abducted on the morning of Jan. 19 in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince were released Thursday morning.
The release of the six nuns, along with their two drivers, was confirmed to Vatican News by Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor, the president of Haiti’s bishops’ conference, on Thursday. The nuns belonged to the St. Anne Congregation.
“We give thanks to God! Thank you for your support,” the bishop said to Vatican News.
“This traumatic event has once again put our faith to the test, but it remains unshakable,” Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne said.
“We cried out to God. He made us strong in our trials and brought our captives back to freedom,” Dumas continued.
The Haitian outlet Rezo Nodwes reported that those responsible for the kidnapping had initially demanded a sum of $3 million in exchange for the release of the nuns and their driver.
It is not yet clear on what conditions, if any, the hostages were released.
The Bishops’ Conference of Haiti issued a statement on Jan. 22 denouncing the “heinous and criminal act” and the widespread violence that has gripped the capital city and the country.
“These acts cause consternation among all citizens of goodwill; they dishonor their authors and tarnish the image of our country afflicted with so many repeated evils,” the statement read.
The bishops went on to demand that the hostages be “unconditionally released” and demanded that those responsible “stop trampling on the inalienable dignity of God’s children.”
“We call on the responsibility of leaders and remind them of their moral duty to ensure the security and protection of the lives and property of all citizens. On many occasions, the Church has denounced their silence, which amounts to an attitude of contempt for the suffering of the people,” the statement continued.
The release of the hostages comes after Pope Francis made a plea on their behalf during last Sunday’s Angelus.
“I have learned with sorrow of the kidnapping in Haiti of a group of people, including six religious sisters,” the pope said on Jan. 21
“In my heartfelt plea for their release, I pray for social concord in the country. And I invite everyone to bring an end to the violence, which is causing a great deal of suffering to that beloved population,” the Holy Father continued.
On Jan. 24 the Haitian Bishops’ Conference along with the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince held a prayer vigil for the release of the hostages.
Haiti has been in the throes of political instability and rampant violence, including rape, killings, and mass kidnappings, since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021, left a power vacuum in the already-fragile Caribbean country.
Moïse faced charges of corruption and incompetence as well as calls to step down from opposition parties since his five-year term expired on Feb. 7, 2021. However, he refused to vacate the office, noting that the first year of his term coincided with an interim government.
The capital city of Port-au-Prince has been the epicenter of widespread gang violence. According to a 2023 United Nations report, an estimated 80% of the capital is under gang control. The situation has deteriorated since acting Prime Minister and President Ariel Henry assumed office on July 20, 2021, on the basis that some, including Haiti’s most powerful gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, say that Henry lacks a political mandate.
Police officers stand guard outside the City Hall building in Quito on Jan. 10, 2024, as Ecuador remains in a state of emergency following the escape from prison of a dangerous narco boss. / Credit: STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images
ACI Prensa Staf… […]
Members of the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) take control of the Women’s Social Adaptation Center (CEFAS) prison in Tamara, 25 km north of Tegucigalpa, on June 26, 2023. The government announced last week that military police would assume control of Honduras’s 21 prisons for a period of one year starting July 1, as well as train 2,000 new prison guards after a vicious battle between rival gangs left at least 46 women dead in a prison near the capital Tegucigalpa. / Credit: Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images
CNA Newsroom, Jun 28, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA).
On June 20, a confrontation broke out between rival gangs at the Women’s Center for Social Readaptation (CEFAS) in Tamara, a town near Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, where dozens of inmates lost their lives.
The massacre was carried out by women belonging to the so-called “Barrio (neighborhood) 18” gang, who shot, stabbed, and set fire to the inmates of another criminal organization known as “Mara Salvatrucha.”
The Mexican newspaper El Universal explained the meaning behind the terms: “In Central America the word ‘mara’ is used colloquially for a gang; ‘salva’ refers to El Salvador; and ‘trucha’ (trout) is a slang term meaning ‘intelligent’ or ‘clever.’”
After what happened, the president of the country, Xiomara Castro, fired the minister of security, Ramón Sabillón, and assured that “drastic measures” will be taken.
The president tweeted she was “shocked by the monstrous murder of women in CEFAS, planned by gangs in full view and tolerance of security authorities. My solidarity with the relatives.”
The Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13) and Barrio 18 are widespread criminal organizations mainly in countries such as Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. Both gangs originated in Los Angeles.
Its members, often identified by full-body tattoos, commit crimes such as rape, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and murder.
The number of women who died is yet to be fully determined.
In a June 20 statement, the public prosecutor’s office of Honduras said there were 41 dead. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (OHCHR), there were 46.
The bishop emeritus of San Pedro de Sula in Honduras, Ángel Garachana Pérez, spoke of even higher numbers than those confirmed by officials.
The Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa’s prison ministry demanded that the authorities clarify “this cruel event” and that “answers be provided for what happened.”
In addition, the bishop demanded that security be reinforced in prisons so that “it works effectively and in an appropriate manner.”
In a June 25 tweet, Pope Francis said: “I have been very saddened by what happened a few days ago in the women’s penitentiary center in Honduras. I pray for the deceased and their families. May the Virgin of Suyapa help hearts to open up to reconciliation and fraternity, even within prisons.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Relatives of inmates of the Women’s Center for Social Adaptation (CEFAS) prison cry outside the detention center after a fire following a brawl between inmates in Tamara, some 25 kilometers from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on June 20, 2023. / Credit: Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 26, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
The Catholic Church in Honduras has made an urgent appeal to the authorities to determine the circumstances in which 48 women inmates died June 20 inside the Women’s Center for Social Readaptation (CEFAS) in the town of Tamara, about 20 miles northwest of Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital.
According to local authorities, on June 20 there was a confrontation between rival gangs inside CEFAS, which unleashed a fire as well as shootings and stabbings.
The bishop emeritus of San Pedro Sula, Ángel Garachana Pérez, said on Twitter: “The tragedy repeats itself: 48 women burned to death or killed in CEFAS!”
“Who does not tremble with grief for them and for their relatives? Who does not wonder with outrage when the radical and comprehensive transformation of a corrupt and failed prison system is going to be undertaken?” the prelate questioned.
The number of women who died has not been fully determined. The public prosecutor’s office of Honduras counted 41 in a statement published June 20. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (OHCHR), there were 46.
Other sources, including Garachana Pérez, place the figure even higher. The Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa’s prison ministry demanded that the authorities clarify “this cruel event” and that “answers be provided for what happened.”
In addition, the bishop demanded that security be reinforced in prisons, so that “it works effectively and in an appropriate manner.”
According to La Prensa, the archdiocesan prison ministry also questioned how firearms got into the prison despite security procedures.
Father Juan Ángel López, spokesman for the Honduran Bishops’ Conference, lamented in a statement to the Honduran newspaper La Prensa that “the statistics are cold and don’t reflect but obscure and make us insensitive to real pain. No more excuses!”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Sacred images that were damaged by bullets in the church in Santa Anita were placed at the foot of the altar of the cathedral in Guachochi. / Guachochi Cathedral Facebook
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 9, 2023 / 16:10 pm (CNA).
The pastor of a church ri… […]
Interior of the Church of Santa Anita in Mexico after the gang confrontation. / Credit: Facebook of Father Enrique Urzúa
ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 7, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA).
A priest rescued three abandoned children in a Mexican town following a con… […]
Members of Actívate (Get Active) deliver more than 33,000 signatures to the Mexican Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) and the attorney general’s office Aug. 24, 2022, demanding justice for two Jesuit priests murdered in June. / Photo credit: Get … […]
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