Port-Au-Prince: As Haiti continues to spiral deeper into crisis, the country’s Catholic bishops have issued a powerful and urgent appeal, condemning what they describe as “barbaric acts” and a complete breakdown of justice, security, and social order.
In a heartfelt statement released by the Episcopal Conference of Haiti (CEH), the bishops warned that the very foundation of the Haitian nation is crumbling, leaving citizens defenseless in the face of escalating violence, displacement, and hunger.
The humanitarian catastrophe is worsening by the day. Armed conflicts displaced another 15,000 people just last week, adding to the 1.3 million Haitians who have already fled. Children are among the hardest hit with UNICEF reporting over 21,000 admissions for acute malnutrition so far this year, and as many as 129,000 expected to require emergency assistance by year’s end.
Against this bleak backdrop, the CEH’s 23 July message served as both an outcry and a call to conscience. The bishops stated that their letter was intended “to sound the alarm on the collapse of our nation, to condemn what debases human dignity, and to point toward the path of Gospel-guided renewal through justice, conversion, and hope.”
The bishops lamented that the country is witnessing not just political instability but a moral and spiritual void. They declared that the current violence is symptomatic of a people “losing their sense of God.” Haiti, they warned, is suffering the decay of its institutions and the erosion of the very systems that once upheld civil society.
“The state no longer guarantees security, justice, or even the most basic necessities of life,” they wrote. The population, they described, is “displaced, humiliated, impoverished, and deeply wounded both in body and in spirit.” No citizen, no landmark, and no place of worship is spared the violence of armed gangs that now rule the streets.
The bishops posed two piercing questions to the nation’s leaders and the international community: What fuels this descent into inhumanity? And why are authorities so passive in defending life, liberty, and cultural memory? They pointed to the dire shortage of essential services closed clinics, vanishing food supplies, and an ever-growing number of displaced families as a testament to the state’s failure.
Turning to the May 2025 draft of Haiti’s new constitution, the CEH acknowledged that the document represents a “key moment” in the nation’s journey. It introduces some progressive elements a push for transparency, anti-corruption reforms, and acknowledgment of Haitian expatriates all of which, the bishops noted, could form the basis for a more inclusive and just society.
Yet they also warned of serious flaws. Chief among them are proposals that centralize power in the presidency, weak enforcement of social rights, and a drafting process that has largely excluded public participation. A constitution, they stressed, should not be a technical document written behind closed doors, but a “social covenant” rooted in the country’s lived experience.
In light of the ongoing turmoil, the bishops asserted that drafting a new constitution must wait. “Security, peace, and proper governance are the pressing needs of the hour,” they insisted. Without these foundations, any legal reform risks being hollow and disconnected from the people's real struggles.
Yet amid the darkness, the CEH offered a note of encouragement. “It is not too late,” they said. But time is slipping away and each day of silence, hesitation, or indifference pushes the country further into chaos.
The statement concluded with a poignant expression of compassion for the countless victims of violence and instability. The bishops invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary, asking her to bring “conversion of hearts, peace, and renewal” to a nation yearning for healing.
With blood spilled, families shattered, and youth stripped of hope, the bishops called upon all Haitians and the world to act decisively before the suffering becomes irreversible.