ARTICLE - NOTRE-DAME CHURCH REOPENS

REOPENING OF THE NOTRE-DAME CHURCH OF PETIT-GOAVE
(Haiti Libre) -

Sent specially for the occasion by the Archbishop Mgr. Guyre Poulard, Mgr. Marie Eric Glandas Toussaint, former pastor of the Parish of Petit-Goâve has, during a penitential ceremony and of reconciliation held, Friday, March 23 around noon, reopened the Catholic church of Notre-Dame de Petit-Goâve where religious activities were suspended, following an act of desecration perpetrated on March 10 by a young man with mental disorders.

After blessing the altar of the church and the assembly, Mgr. Glandas Toussaint, the principal celebrant, declared in his message in the presence of Mgr. Julio Nau, Father Boniface, Father Philogène and before a substantial number of faithful; "We stand in solidarity with the city of Petit-Goâve, and we share your pain following the act of desecration. [...] The church aims at the human person; it must enable him to change... You have to respect what is sacred [...] We do not curse the defiler of the church of Petit-Goâve, because God is a God of forgiveness, mercy and grace [...] The justice of God saves, it does not punish. We ask God to change the course of this defiler, to erase his sin. Psalm 50 exhorts us to compassion and the forgiveness of sins. It is in this mind, that we are asking God not to punish the guilty, but to forgive him and and fill him with blessings..."

Father Boniface, parish priest, thanked at the end of the ceremony Mgr. Guyre Poulard, the other ecclesiastical authorities, the faithful of the parish, the police, the press, the Minustah, the League of Pastors of the city, the priests of every parish of Haiti, and Protestant Christians... While forgiving the defiler, he wishes that a doctor can determine the nature of his illness until the judges' decision.

Following this ceremony, the activities of the Church of Notre-Dame of Petit-Goâve will resume normally.