Gunmen attacked an orphanage in Haiti, leading to the abduction of eight people, including an Irish missionary and a 3-year-old child. The Saint-Hélène orphanage, run by an international charity, cares for over 240 children and is located in an area controlled by a gang federation. Authorities are working to relocate children and staff, while no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The missing include Gena Heraty, an Irish missionary who has worked in Haiti since 1993 and was previously assaulted in a prior incident at the orphanage. The kidnapping is the latest in a series of high-profile incidents involving foreign missionaries in Haiti, including a 2021 kidnapping by the 400 Mawozo gang.
4 months ago
Eight individuals, including an Irish lay missionary and a three-year-old disabled child, were kidnapped from the St. Helene Orphanage in Kenscoff, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sunday, August 3, 2025 2 4. The orphanage, run by the international charity Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters), cares for over 200 children and is known for its dedicated work 2 4. Gunmen reportedly broke through an outer wall and proceeded directly to the main building, suggesting a carefully planned operation 2.
The kidnapped Irish missionary is Gena Heraty, who has served in Haiti for over 30 years since 1993 2 4. She was taken along with a three-year-old disabled child and seven other orphanage employees 2 4. Heraty has previously been a victim of an armed robbery at the same orphanage in 2013, during which a colleague was killed while attempting to protect her 4. Despite the escalating violence and risks, Heraty has expressed unwavering commitment to the children, stating, "The children are why I'm still here. I've no intention whatsoever of leaving, because we're all in this together" 2.
Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, is experiencing a severe crisis marked by widespread lawlessness and gang violence 2 4. Criminal gangs operate freely and control approximately 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince 2 4. Kidnapping is a common occurrence, frequently used by gangs to extort large sums of money for weapons and equipment 2. The area where the orphanage is located is controlled by the Viv Ansanm (Live Together) gang, recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States 4.
The Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Simon Harris, has expressed deep concern over Heraty's kidnapping and demanded the immediate release of all those abducted 4. While several Caribbean nations have sent police officers to bolster Haiti's fragile security forces, no major nation has yet offered troop reinforcements for a peacekeeping operation 2. Haitian authorities, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Haitian Institute for Social Welfare, have initiated a plan to relocate the remaining orphanage staff and children to a safer location 4. The Haitian bishops have repeatedly appealed to the international community for urgent assistance to address the crisis and aid those in need 4. As of the latest reports, no criminal group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and Haitian authorities have not publicly commented on the incident 4.
What is the Church's teaching on evangelization?
The Catholic Church teaches that evangelization is her essential mission and identity, a task entrusted to all baptized Christians . It is the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ to all humanity, aiming to transform individuals and society from within .
Evangelization encompasses the Church's entire mission . It involves bringing the Good News into all areas of human life, transforming humanity from within, and making it new . This process seeks to convert personal and collective consciences, activities, ways of life, and the environments in which people live, solely through the divine power of the proclaimed Message . While evangelization broadly refers to the Church's mission, it also specifically means the clear and unambiguous proclamation of the Lord Jesus . This proclamation, or kerygma, is a crucial aspect of evangelization, though not its entirety .
The Risen Christ, before His Ascension, commanded the Apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world, sharing with them the mission He received from the Father . This mandate extends to all who desire to be authentic disciples of the Lord, including the lay faithful . Through the sacraments of Christian initiation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the lay faithful are prepared for this work and are called to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom . Pope Paul VI emphasized that "to evangelize is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her most profound identity" .
Every baptized Christian is an agent of evangelization, regardless of their position in the Church or level of instruction . This "new evangelization" calls for personal involvement from each baptized individual . Pope Francis states that all Christians are "missionary disciples" to the extent that they have encountered God's love in Christ Jesus . What is essential is not advanced training, but rather the discovery of God's love through Christ and the desire to lead others to that same joyful discovery . Anyone who has truly experienced God's saving love does not need extensive training to proclaim that love . All are called to offer explicit witness to the Lord's saving love, communicating what has given them hope and helped them live .
Evangelization is not an individual or isolated act; it is always an ecclesial task carried out in communion with the entire community of faith . The proclamation of the Gospel is a communal service to the Church's apostolic faith, which must be passed down in its integrity to every generation . This ecclesial dimension protects the Christian message from distortion and accommodation to worldly interests . The Church's missionary activity originates from the immense love of God the Father, poured out through the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and continued through the Church's mission to proclaim this saving love to all the ends of the earth .
There can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation of Jesus as Lord . The Magisterium has repeatedly stressed the primacy of proclaiming Jesus Christ in all evangelizing work . Pope Paul VI stated that "there is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed" .
Furthermore, genuine Christian witness is crucial . People today often trust witnesses more than teachers, and experience more than theories . The first form of witness is the very life of the missionary, the Christian family, and the ecclesial community, revealing a new way of living . This holiness of life can be more persuasive than intellectual argument, especially in certain cultural contexts . The experience of faith and the gifts of the Holy Spirit form the basis of all missionary work .
Evangelization aims to build up the Church into a community of faith that confesses the faith in full adherence to the Word of God, celebrated in the Sacraments, and lived in charity . The "good news" is intended to stir a person to conversion of heart and life, leading them to cling to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, receive Baptism and the Eucharist, and be strengthened in a new life according to the Spirit . It is the Church's effort to proclaim God's love, His self-giving in Christ Jesus, and His invitation to unending happiness . When the Gospel is accepted as "good news," it demands to be shared .