Cardinal - Haiti Observer Blog

In an interview with newspaper Nouvelliste on Monday night, Cardinal Chibly Langlois made his opinion known about the current political crisis in Haiti. The Haitian cardinal calls for Jocelerme Privert to remain as Provisional President, calling it the lesser evils. Cardinal Chibly Langlois stated that he has been following the political development in Haiti and is concerned about what is going on in currently. He thinks that the Haitian Senators and Deputies should not use the Parliament as a tool to defend their own interests and that priority should be given to improving the condition of the population.

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Chibly Langlois is the first Haitian cardinal who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by the Pope Francis on 22 February 2014. He is the youngest among the other men named as cardinals and the only cardinal among the new cardinals at the February 2014 consistory who was not an archbishop. Chibly Langlois is the president of Haiti's Bishops' Conference and the acting bishop of Les Cayes since 15 August 2011.

On Sunday 23 November 2014, at 9:30 am, Langlois celebrated the Mass at Notre Dame d'Haiti in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. South Florida is the home of the largest Haitian Diaspora in the U.S. Cardinal Langlois, as the president of the Haitian bishops' conference, often visits South Florida to hold discussions on the Partnership for the Reconstruction of the Church in Haiti (PROCHE). On this occasion, Rev. Jean Mary Reginald, the administrator at Notre Dame has said, Langlois serves as the representative for Haitians everywhere-- he represents the Haitian church, the Haitian migrants, and symbolizes solidarity between Haitian Catholics and the Vatican. He is our witness before the church.

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Haitian Cardinal, Mgr Chibly Langlois, recently commented in The Guardian newspaper on voodoism in Haiti. He described voodoo as a big problem in Haiti.

The response from Religions for Peace Organization's was quick and dissenting. Religions for Peace, an inter-religious organization, issued a press release in protest. They said this would create confusion and tension. This platform, which includes the Roman Catholic Church in Haiti, said their mission is to spread peace, encourage tolerance, prevent conflicts and promote peaceful co-existence. They urged all religious leaders to choose their words carefully. They also said that no religion is superior to the other.

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Voodoo is a religious cult practiced combining the elements of Roman Catholic rituals with traditional African magical and religious rites, characterized by sorcery and spirit possession. It is heavily practiced in the Caribbean and the southern U.S.

Recently, the Haitian Cardinal, Mgr Chibly Langlois, said in a statement that voodoo was a major social problem for Haiti because the practice presents the element of magic and not genuine solutions to the people of Haiti who he termed as "a population deprived of justice and political voice."

His statement has caused such a stir among the inter-religious scope. In a press note, they said that they were extremely saddened and disappointment by the statement from the Cardinal. They argued that it would most likely intensify the confusion in peoples' minds and worsen the current anxiety and tension. They argue that the mission of the inter-religious platform is to advocate for tolerance among people, prevent conflicts and promote togetherness. They further went on to say that God does not empower any religion to judge another.

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On February 23, 2014, the investiture ceremony of 19 new cardinals at St. Peter's Basilica took place. Among the new cardinals, arrayed in their purple vestments and cardinal's caps, was Haiti's Mgr. Chibly Langlois, its first cardinal ever.

People began filling the Basilica as early as 8 am. The overflow crowd stayed outside in an area, where they could view the Consistory on over-sized screens. The crowd waited expectedly for the appearance of Pope Francis, who was elected to the papacy last March, and is the first pontiff from Latin America. The church organist began playing at 11 am as Pope Francis drew near. The unexpected presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI caused added to the significance of the occasion. He sat in the front row and was greeted by Pope Francis, amid applause from the congregation.

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Archbishop Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes is Haiti's first cardinal, appointed by Pope Francis. Langlois joins Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Orani Joao Tempesta; Archbishop Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solarzano of Managua, Nicaragua; and Archbishop of Santiago del Chile, Chile, Ricardo Ezzati Andrello.

These three new cardinals are part of a group of 19, who come from Asia, Africa, Canada, Burkina Faso, and Latin America. With the selection of prelates from Haiti and Burkina Faso, Pope Francis is putting into action his conviction the Roman Catholic Church needs to put more focus on poorer populations. According to Rev. Federico Lombardi, spokesman for the Vatican, the choice of Haiti for the cardinal's hat demonstrates the Vatican will become an advocate for Haiti in the international community.

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When the news of the ascension of Bishop Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes as the first Haitian Cardinal reached Haiti on Sunday 12 January, the Haitian people and the local Catholic Church were both surprised and happy. The Haitians got their first Cardinal exactly on the same day when four years ago a terrible earthquake took hundreds of thousands lives in Haiti. Bishop Chibly Langlois is the president of the Haitian bishops' who is respected by Haitians for his immense service in the post earthquake era in Haiti.

Haiti is the place where most of the poorest of the poor live in western hemisphere. Many of us do not remember that this is the place in America where the Cross of Jesus Christ was first placed. On 6 December, 1492, Christopher Columbus along with his other European companions when arrived on this island, to bring the land under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church, his first act was to plant a cross on the beach at Môle St. Nichola and establish the first Spanish colony on the island.

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The new Roman Catholic Pope has, at the outset of his run, taken stances and made decisions that have had him labeled as reformative. His latest appointment of a Cardinal for the island of Hispaniola has been one more such move, Chibly Langlois.

There can only be one! The Spanish part of the island, the Dominican Republic, has always held the honor of being home to a Roman Cardinal. But, after Pope Francis' recent naming of his 19 new cardinals, it is Haiti and its 'little priest that could' which now has the ear and attention of the Holy See.

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Cardinals, for the time it takes them to decide who the next pope in the Catholic world will be, are arguably the most important, influential group within the denomination. Ever since 1059, before which the pope had been selected first by the clergy and those of the Roman diocese, then in part by the nobility, the cardinals have held this high power after the pope gained a stronger sense of independence from politics.

Within the realm of the cardinal are different orders, namely bishops, priests and deacons. The cardinal bishops are the high priests of the church. Today, most cardinals are bishops, but the actual term "cardinal bishop" is used to refer only to those from the seven suburbicarian dioceses of the Church in the vicinity of Rome.

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On January 12, 2014, Pope Francis has selected Bishop Chibly Langlois of Les Cayes as the first Haitian cardinal. The new cardinal is a 55 year old tireless worker who never forgot his impoverished childhood.

Chibly Langlois was born in La Valle in southeast Haiti and rose in a poor family. He is one among the 19 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on January 12. He is the youngest and the only non-archbishop in the group. The Haitian Catholic leaders believe this selection by Pope is a recognition of his service to the victims of devastating earthquake in 2010. The seismic activity killed over 220,000 people three years ago and left 1.5 million homeless. Even the archbishop of the capital city Port-au-Prince died in the quake and the city's iconic cathedral was toppled. It is truly a historic news for Haiti and a big appreciation of its church's dedicated work undertaken in difficult time in the post-earthquake period.

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