HAITI-CRIME-Bishop condemns murder of Roman Catholic priest

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Dec 23, CMC – President of the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, Bishop Launay Saturné, has condemned “in the most vigorous way” the murder of Father Joseph Simoly who was shot on Thursday during an apparent robbery.
Bishop Saturné in a statement said a “a new course in insecurity, the impunity, horror, barbarity, hatred and violence has just been crossed” and that the murder of the priest has “unfortunately added to a series of violence that, these days, have already shaken us, causing great concern and immense grief in the Haitian population.
“We denounce with all our strength and condemn in the most vigorous way this horrible act, this absurd violence. Faced with this barbarous murder that raises our indignation, we declare that we can never tolerate this type of act in violation of the divine law ‘You shall not murder’,” he said.
Deputy spokesperson for the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Inspector Gary Desrosiers, said Father Simoly had just completed a transaction in a bank when he was targeted by the gunmen on his way home.
The authorities said the gunmen on a motorcycle pumped several bullets into Father Simoly as they tried to rob him. They said he was rushed to the Haitian Community Hospital but died while receiving treatment.
Bishop Saturné said the Catholic Bishops of Haiti “associate ourselves with the grief of the family …and will not fail to pray for the conversion of his killers who committed this villainous crime.
“The fight against insecurity and violence must continue. We must not give up. We expect, from the judicial authorities, that light be made as soon as possible on this assassination and that concrete measures are taken to protect life and secure all Haitian citizens and foreigners living in the country.”