Voodoo won’t save Haiti, says cardinal

RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL July 13, 2014

Traditional faith ‘offers no real solutions for the poor’ and is a big social problem, says new prelate

 in Port au Prince

Haiti‘s first Roman Catholic cardinal has described voodoo as a “big social problem” for his desperately poor country, arguing that thereligion offers “magic” but no real solutions to a population deprived of justice and a political voice.Chibly Langlois, who was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in February, linked Haiti’s belief system to its chronic political problems, which he says force poor Haitians – the overwhelming majority of a population of 10 million – to seek supernatural solutions.”If a person is well educated and has the financial means, they will go to a doctor [instead of the voodoo priest] when they get sick. If that same person went to the court to get justice they would not go to the voodoo priest to get revenge. It’s a big problem for the church. And for Haiti,” he said.