The Holy See has once again expressed its solidarity with the suffering people of Haiti, urging international collaboration to restore peace and stability in the Caribbean nation plagued by years of violence and political turmoil.
On August 20, the Organization of American States (OAS) unveiled a document in Washington, D.C., outlining “Towards a Haitian-Led Roadmap for Stability and Peace with Regional and International Support.” According to Vatican News, the plan seeks to combine immediate stabilization with long-term reforms under the guidance of Haitian leadership.
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Representing the Holy See at the meeting, Msgr. Juan Antonio Cruz Serrano, the Vatican’s Permanent Observer to the OAS, welcomed the initiative as a crucial step in addressing what he called the “grave security and institutional crisis in that Caribbean country” (Vatican News). He emphasized that the roadmap responds to Haiti’s “profound and dramatic situation… characterized in particular by persistent insecurity, endemic poverty, and the violence of armed groups.”
The challenges Haiti faces are staggering. Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, gangs have seized control of vast portions of Port-au-Prince, with Vatican News reporting that over 5,000 people were killed in 2024 alone. Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes, leaving the nation on the brink of collapse.
Pope Leo XIV himself recently issued an urgent appeal for the Haitian people. On August 10, he implored, “I make an urgent appeal to all those responsible to immediately release the hostages, and I ask for concrete support from the international community to create the social and institutional conditions that will allow Haitians to live in peace” (Vatican News).
Haitian bishops echoed this cry in a statement released on July 23, warning of the “breakdown of society and the decay of the institutions that support it,” noting that the government no longer “ensures security, justice, or even the basic necessities of life for its people” (Vatican News).
In his address at the OAS, Msgr. Cruz reassured the commitment of the Catholic Church to walk alongside the people of Haiti in their search for peace. “The Holy See,” he said, “reiterates its closeness to the Haitian people and reaffirms its constant support for efforts to promote peace and stability” (Vatican News).
For Catholics, this ongoing crisis is not only a call to prayer but also to action—standing in solidarity with a nation yearning for peace, and advocating for justice, security, and dignity for all Haitians.
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