Catholicism in Haiti

I am not Catholic, nor do I attend a Catholic mass or really have anything to do with the Catholic Church. I go to a Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, and I identify as a Christian, but I have a great respect for many Catholics I know and certain Catholic institutions, specifically the Jesuit and Franciscan orders. The new Pope being elected at the end of the month won’t have serious consequences for me or for the work that I am doing, but its means a lot for the Christian world and Haiti.

Haiti was initially a French Colony, and was therefore founded as a Catholic nation. Though today France has abandoned much of its Catholic identity, its former colony has continued to embrace Catholicism. Nominally 86% of the population identifies as Catholic, while 9% identify with other protestant religions. Now these numbers are a little misleading, only 3% of Haitians identify as practicing Vodou, but more than 3% practice Vodou in some way, they just don’t identify with the Vodou religion. There is an old Haitian Proverb that “Haiti is 90% Roman Catholic, and 100% Voodoo”.

Haiti has an interesting relationship with the Vatican. The Vatican and other charitable Catholic organizations have sent lots of aid in recent years, but throughout Haiti’s history it hasn’t always had a great relationship with Rome. Haiti was an independent republic in 1804, but wasn’t recognized as such by the Vatican until 1860. During French rule, most of the Catholic clergy were white, and were all expelled after the revolution. In 1806 Catholic missionaries started returning to Haiti. Though much of Haiti was still Catholic after the revolution, the Vatican didn’t recognize Haiti as an independent nation until 1860. The Vatican was not alone in this, France didn’t recognize Haiti as an independent nation until the 1820’s and the US didn’t formally recognize Haiti as an independent nation until after the Civil War. France didn’t recognize Haiti as independent because that would be giving legitimacy to their former slave colony, and the French really only acknowledged Haiti as a legitimate nation in the 1820’s when parked a few battle ships outside of port Au Prince and demanded Haiti pay reparations for the revolution (the only time in history when the victor had to pay the vanquished reparations, for the next fifty years over half of Haiti’s government spending was to France to repay this debt). The US didn’t recognize Haiti as an independent nation because no slave holding Southern politician would accept a black ambassador, or accept that blacks were capable managing their own country. I can’t find a clear answer as to why the Vatican didn’t acknowledge Haiti’s legitimacy, I suspect France’s influence in Rome didn’t help Haiti in this case, but I can’t say anything for sure.

Once Rome acknowledged Haiti’s legitimacy however, they began to send priests and more missionaries. There were already Catholic missions in Haiti, so the already strong Catholic influence became stronger. In particular, Catholic churches began to be more common in the rural areas, offering aid to the struggling population as well as services and formal religious order. In 1896 and 1941 the Haitian Catholic church and the Haitian state enacted policies against Vodou, and pushed for measures to outlaw the practice of Vodou. Some Catholic priests destroyed Vodou icons, but overall this did not have a large affect on Vodou in Haiti.

The Catholic distain for Vodou has been criticized in the past, saying that the Catholic church is being intolerant of other religions, and though this seems to be the case on the surface, I think the argument is not that simple. Vodou is a complicated religion, there isn’t a set text or clear dogma, and it’s a touchy subject among Haitians. Vodou in the US is made out to be a peaceful pantheistic religion, involving cool dances, the burning of incense, and the practice of playful witchcraft. This is true to some degree, but there is a much darker side to Vodou that doesn’t make it into American movies. Vodou has a violent side; one practice of Vodou is zombification, where a person is “killed” and then raised from the dead and forced into slavery. The person is actually poisoned by puffer fish venom and falls into a deep sleep, his or her heart eventually slows down so much that he or she goes cold and appears dead. Once the venom wears off in a few days, the person is “raised” from the dead, and forced to work as a slave. There have been many deaths attributed to Vodou. One of the men living in the Community of Hope used to be a Vodou Witch Doctor, and when he converted to Christianity he felt that his life and the life of his family was in danger. He lived in the mountain community of Paul, and he feels that had he not moved to La Croix, he and his family would have been killed because of his conversion. I am not a fan of Catholic priests destroying Vodou icons, but I understand the Catholic Church’s distain for the practice of Vodou.

The Catholic Church didn’t make a whole lot of news in Haiti until the reign of Francois Duvalier, Papa Doc. Duvalier was known for his iron grip on Haiti and the gross violations of human rights he committed against the Haitian people. Duvalier had a large police force known as the Tonton Macoutes that terrorized those who disagreed with his administration; the catholic church took a strong stance against the actions of Duvalier, and many of these police officers intimidated or killed Catholic priests. As Duvalier tightened his grip on Haiti, he created a personality cult around him and claimed to be a Houngan, a Vodou Priest. Duvalier saw himself as the human manifestation of Haiti, and in some ways saw himself as Loa, the Chief spirit of Vodou. Duvalier expelled a bunch of Haitian bishops and Catholic officials, and was eventually excommunicated by the Catholic Church. In 1983, during the reign of Baby Doc, Pap Doc’s Son, Pope John Paul came to Haiti, saying that “Things must change here” (statement by the pope during his visit to Haiti), and galvanized a movement to promote human rights in Haiti.

In the late 1980’s a Catholic Priest named Jean Bertrand Aristide rose to prominence, and in 1990, became the first democratically elected president of Haiti. Aristide was a student of liberation theology and firmly believed that Haiti could move forward if its government cooperated with the people and helped the poor. Aristide had a very controversial presidency; he elected with 67% of the vote in 1990, and then was ousted in a coup d’état in 1991. He returned to power from 1994 to 1996. He was reelected in 2001 but was again ousted in another coup d’état in 2004. Aristide claims that the CIA kidnapped him in 2004. There is some evidence to support this claim, but his administration had become more corrupt, and there was momentum in Haiti to remove him from power. There are those in Haiti who say that Aristide was a great leader and was removed because he opposed the US, and there are those in Haiti who are glad that he’s no longer in power. I don’t know enough about the history to make an informed opinion, but I do know that Pastor Pierre felt that his life was in danger under Aristide’s presidency. Aristide embodied the hope that came with liberation theology, so I understand why many Haitians were so enthusiastic about him. That said I’ve also seen how corruptible politicians in Haiti can be, and I trust Pastor Pierre, so I am hesitant to offer any opinion.

Today the Catholic Church is one of the largest organizations offering aid in Haiti, and most Haitians identify as Catholic. The new Pope will have a whole smattering of issues to address, some that will affect Haiti, some of which won’t affect Haiti. One of the biggest issues facing the Catholic church is declining membership in the developed world. Though Haiti is a small nation, I think that the new Pope could learn something from the Haiti’s Catholicism. Haiti’s churches are packed every Sunday, and they’re also more mission oriented than churches in the US or Europe. The government provides no comprehensive social services, so the church has to provide many of the essential services like health care and education. The church is at the center of people’s lives, and can become more than just a service provider; it can become a place for community development, it can effect real change. The church is able to not just help people, the church can change culture and empower entire communities to care for themselves. Catholics, like all Christians, believe in a God that died and rose again. Maybe with a little help from places like Haiti, the Catholic Church can find a way to also rise again.