Haiti
Beth Cioffoletti
hope for them: for those who stay, for those who attempt to
flee. The silence of the pope and the Catholic church in this
matter *infuriates* me. Nine of the ten Duvalier appointed
bishops of Haiti side with the de-facto military government.
President (Fr.) Aristide has repeatedly been denied an
audience with the Pope.
My friend, Nancy McDonald, who travels frequently to Haiti and
records her experiences with poetry, has asked me to share
with you one of her most recent:
Stockyards
by Nancy McDonald
I have seen cattle in the slaughterhouse
watch the man with the mallet
eyes wild round
feet moving in a slide-and-quick-step panic dance
tails flicking off staccato seconds
of remaining life.
Pushed by their own momentum
they move into line
assume their places
herded one by one.
But I am in Haiti now, and cattle
are a rare commodity
So the slaughter masters settle for the available.
Here the carnage has no limited venue
Bodies turn up in the streets
parts scattered faces shaved off
Hard to tell the owner
where there's no brand
Observing this mindless cafeteria of brutality
I tell you
the cattle have a kinder death.
*******************************
Nancy gives her permission to reproduce this poem if you wish.
Peace, Beth
Rick M. Kephart
> The news from Haiti today touches my soul. There is so little
> hope for them: for those who stay, for those who attempt to
> flee. The silence of the pope and the Catholic church in this
> matter *infuriates* me. Nine of the ten Duvalier appointed
> bishops of Haiti side with the de-facto military government.
> President (Fr.) Aristide has repeatedly been denied an
> audience with the Pope.
Why would the Pope want to meet with a man who approves of necklacing?
John E Murray
DavidJ2111
>>>>>>>>>>>President (Fr.) Aristide
Was it the US bishops or the Pope who requested that priests not
pursue an avocation in politics? Isn't this disobedience...
Patrick Sweeney
Rick> On Wed, 6 Jul 1994, Beth Cioffoletti wrote:
>> The news from Haiti today touches my soul. There is so little
>> hope for them: for those who stay, for those who attempt to
>> flee. The silence of the pope and the Catholic church in this
>> matter *infuriates* me. Nine of the ten Duvalier appointed
>> bishops of Haiti side with the de-facto military government.
>> President (Fr.) Aristide has repeatedly been denied an audience
>> with the Pope.
Rick> Why would the Pope want to meet with a man who approves of
Rick> necklacing?
It was widely reported that Aristide advocated violent reprisals
against those he characterized as the criminal element in the former
military government, some of these reports included "necklacing" as
actually being spoken at political rallies by Aristide.
Whether this is just or not, is not for us to decide. The point is that
I have followed this story closely and Aristide supports have not denied
that he advocated violent reprisals or necklacing prior to his exile.
If there's a denial of this that's been printed somewhere, I'd like to know
where.
The Pope and the Church calls for peace. That's the bottom line. The
Pope has spoken out early and often on the subject of Haiti. In the
news judgment of the major media, the address of December 1, 1991 was
not newsworthy. The position of the Pope and the Church is good and
not "infuriating".
Aristide's status as a Roman Catholic priest is not certainly not
regular. I believe he was a Salesian (Salesians of St. John
Bosco)(S.D.B) who accepted permanent suspension of his priesthood when
he sought leadership in his political party. Pope John Paul II had
ruled several years earlier that active priests cannot run for or hold
political office. On the other hand, I've read that because of the
failure of the Roman Catholic Church to advocate the return of
Aristide to power, he's begun to "negotiate" ordination into some
other denomination.
It's absurd to believe that by the fact that Aristide was once an
active Roman Catholic priest that the Pope should be a political
advocate of his restoration to power.
Clinton has backed off from his former position that the return of
Aristide to power by any means necessary is the shortest path to
peace. It's wrong to suggest that the Pope should adopt this position
without making a good case for it.
--
Patrick Sweeney
Lehman Brothers
388 Greenwich Street 11th floor
New York, NY 10013
internet pswe...@lehman.com