> 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?
>>>>>>>>>>>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...
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