On Sunday, Pope Francis said he was praying for Haiti, a country where criminal gangs have wreaked havoc recently.
“I am following with concern and pain the serious crisis affecting Haiti and the violent episodes that have occurred in recent days,” the 87-year-old said after his Sunday Angelus prayer.
“I am close to the Church and to the dear Haitian people who have suffered so much for years.”
He called for all parties to work toward peace and reconciliation “with the renewed support of the international community” and offered prayers for an end to the violence.
Criminal organizations have wreaked havoc in an attempt to remove Prime Minister Ariel Henry from office as head of the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. They currently control a large portion of the city, Port-au-Prince, as well as the roadways connecting it to the rest of the nation.
362,000 Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the turmoil, more than half of them are children, and some have been forced to relocate more than once, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Saturday.
