During the Angelus, Pope Francis expressed his joy at the release of the teacher and four religious from the Institute of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Haiti who were kidnapped on February 23. But the Pope said the joy was mixed because not all the hostages has been freed.
POPE FRANCIS
I ask that they be freed as soon as possible—the other two clergymen and all the people who are still being held hostage in this beloved country that has been put to the test with so much violence.
Violence in Haiti has escalated in recent years. In 2023, the president was assassinated and the country was taken over by criminal gangs. According to Save the Children, more than one million minors—a quarter of the country's population of children—live trapped in this environment.
JRB
TR: KG