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Florida Catholic July 2021

YOUR MIAMI COMMUNITY

TOM TRACY

Florida Catholic correspondent

MIAMI A sense of quiet and shock in Haiti following the assassination of that coun- try's embattled president July 7 seemed to be mirrored in Florida's Little Haiti neighbor- hood, where residents were still digesting the news later that day. There is a sense of calm, but you wonder what kind of calm that is and what is coming, with all those heavily armed gangs and no prime minister and no idea who is replacing the country's leadership," said Father Regi- nald Jean-Mary, administrator of Notre Dame d'Haiti Mission in Miami. He spoke with the Florida Catholic July 7 before leading an hour of prayer for Haiti following the death of Presi- dent Jovenel Mose. A small group of heavily armed mercenar- ies descended on the president's house in the early morning hours of July 7, killing him and critically injuring his wife, who was sub- sequently flown to Miami for medical treat- ment. A day later, several suspects were shot or apprehended. Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who was away from Miami on a silent retreat, wrote in a "mini op-ed" he contributes regularly to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, that the assas- sination could easily result in Haiti becoming the Somalia of the Caribbean. That four of the six assassins have themselves been killed by police further raises suspicions," he wrote, citing a Haitian proverb that says, " voye woch kache men : the rock thrower hides his hand. If chaos is to be avoided and Haitians have a chance at a future of hope, those hidden hands have to be exposed," the archbishop wrote. Father Jean-Mary, who leads a 5,000-per- son community of Haitian Catholics near midtown Miami, said he had been talking with members of his church and with com- munity leaders after the news broke. People are in a state of disbelief and a state of shock that a son of the country got mur- dered - a leader, a human being, a father. This is not a time for rejoicing. It hurts every- body whether you liked him or not," he told the Florida Catholic . His church hosted the hour of eucharistic adoration - as they have been doing every day during the COVID-19 pandemic - "to call upon the mercy of God for Haiti and for everybody to demonstrate a spirit of mercy and forgiveness so that we can live in that spirit of conversion that the Lord has called us to," the priest said. Father Jean-Mary believes the presiden- tial assassination marks a new low for Haiti, which has been enduring an era of profound chaos and lawlessness for more than a year, with roving street gangs carrying out kill- ings and kidnappings with impunity. Presi- dent Mose, by virtue of his role, was a focus of frustration, seen as doing little and saying little about the internal disorder, according to the priest. Haiti has never been in this position be- fore. We really went down very low, where values are not respected at all, where funda- mental values are being violated every day and no sense of order. It is like everybody can do whatever they want, corruption levels are very high." The priest said he hoped the international community would lend a hand to help Haiti regain its footing and establish law and or- der. I would not be talking about forces but we need a presence who can restore calm in the country along with the Haitian police and along with the Haitian officials to make sure everything goes well. In the past, (military) occupations didn't serve any good for us." Notre Dame d'Haiti Mission's longtime member and church event coordinator Jean Souffrant, who attended the July 7 eucharistic adoration, said he was appalled at the devel- opments. He last visited Haiti in March to at- tend the funeral of a family friend but noted he was traveling to his birthplace less and less recently due to the lack of safety there. Like everybody else, I woke up today with the shocking news of the assassination and I thought it was very senseless and brutal - no one deserves to die in that manner," he said. Relatively few people turned out for the prayer vigil July 7 as it took place during the middle of the work week. Still, Souffrant said, people in Miami are very connected to devel- opments in Haiti. It doesn't matter what was happening in the country - if we wanted him to leave, then we wanted him to leave, but for him to die the way he died was very inhumane. This was a human being and to see the way he died was very cruel," Souffrant said. "To see so much blood being spilled it just is absolutely not what we as a people want to see of our coun- try. We want to see educated folks, we want to see happy children, nourished children and happy people - but for the past year that has not been the case." Fiammetta Cappellini, Haiti-based coun- try representative for the Milan-based AVSI, which earlier this year maintained some 15 international staff and 300 local staff work- ing in both rural, urban and slum programs across Haiti, told the Florida Catholic that the country has come to a stop following the as- sassination, with traffic halted and interna- tional borders closed. As a humanitarian NGO, we are very concerned about the population, espe-

Haitian Catholics react to assassination of President Mose

cially those who live in the most vulnerable neighborhoods and areas," Cappellini said by email. "In these areas, a large part of the population depends on humanitarian aid which is now suspended and we do not know when the organizations will be able to con- tinue their operations because we must be able to guarantee the safety of our staff before resuming activities."

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Father Reginald Jean-Mary, administrator of Notre Dame d'Haiti Mission in Miami, talks to the media before leading a eucharistic adoration and afternoon prayer vigil for Haiti July 7, 2021, in light of the assassination earlier in the day of Haiti's embattled President Jovenel Mose. (TOM TRACY FC) STAFF REPORT

MIAMI As of July 7, mask- wearing and social distancing re- main a requirement for gathering in churches "and other (parish) spaces," according to an updated COVID policy issued by the Arch- diocese of Miami. Groups may meet in person in churches but only with proper so- cial distancing and use of masks. At Mass, the sign of peace should continue to be omitted and Com- munion distributed by bread only. The updated policy was issued July 7, 2021. It notes that the archdi- ocese continues to review its COV- ID-19 protocols weekly with a view toward eliminating them when a county's "new case positivity rate" declines to 2%. Many parents in our schools and parishioners in our parishes are asking when the requirement of masks will be eliminated," the pol- icy notes. "We had set 2% positivity as the goal, only to see the numbers increase most recently to 3.6%. The most effective measure is to get vac- cinated." As of July 2, the new case positiv- ity rate for Miami Dade was 3.6%; Broward was 3.9% and Monroe was 5.5%. The policy adds that, among chil- dren younger than 12, who are not eligible for the vaccine, the positiv- ity rate is 5.4%, rising to 6.7% among 12 to 19-year-olds, who are eligible for vaccination. In Miami Dade County, the rate of vaccination for youths 12-17, with their first or both shots, is 37.4%. Ideally, the rate should be close to 100% to best protect our chil- dren and young adults and re-open schools in August without the CO- VID requirements of masks and so- cial distance," the policy states. It adds: "It is encouraging that even though the number of new cases and the new case positivity rate are both increasing, the num- ber of deaths is decreasing. How- ever, the DELTA variant believed to be more transmissible is becoming more prevalent throughout the US." On May 8, the archdiocese modi- fied its policy to adhere to guidance from the Centers for Disease Con- trol on cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. Daily cleaning is sufficient in most areas unless someone who is symptomatic with COVID has been present," the policy states. "In that case cleaning and disinfecting of the area is required. Additional caution to clean and disinfect high touch areas/surfaces is still re- quired in areas used by small chil- dren." While generally adhering to CDC guidelines about mask wearing for vaccinated adults, the archdioc- esan policy states that they must wear masks even outdoors when students are present; and indoors when children/students or any other persons that are not fully vaccinated are present in the same room or indoor space." For youths and children under 18, mask and social distancing re- quirements continue through the summer of 2021 as they did dur- ing the school year, with the only change being that children are not required to wear masks outdoors as long as social distancing at a minimum of 6' apart can be main- tained." Some parents may recognize that it is beneficial for their child to use a mask outdoors and that pa- rental decision is to be supported by the staff of the school or parish," the policy states. One other change: Effective July 1, health screenings are not re- quired for children in summer ses- sions at archdiocesan schools or for employees of archdiocesan entities. By August 1, it is hoped that the increase in vaccination rate and de- crease in positivity rate will allow the ADOM to make the use of masks optional and eliminate the require- ment of masks and social distanc- ing in the schools for the coming school year," the policy states. It encourages parents to have their children, ages 12 and older, fully vaccinated by the time school re-opens in mid-August. The same

Latest archdiocesan policy: Masks still on at Mass

Policy encourages full vaccination of employees and eligible students by August

applies to parish and school faculty and staff "unless a documented medical condition exists that pro- hibits vaccination." The entire policy can be read on the archdiocesan website, www. miamiarch.org.

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The updated policy was issued July 7, 2021. It notes that the archdiocese continues to review its COVID-19 protocols weekly with a view toward eliminating them when a county's new case positivity rate" declines to 2%.