Imprisoned Haitian priest sick but strong, says bishops' official

Published: 2006-01-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Father Gerard Jean-Juste, who has been jailed without charges in Haiti since last July, is physically sick, but still strong and courageous, said the permanent secretary of the Haitian bishops' conference. Msgr. Andre Pierre, who said he visits the imprisoned priest regularly and most recently saw him in mid-January, said Father Jean-Juste's neck and throat show the physical signs of leukemia. A doctor who examined the priest Dec.1 reported that the priest had swollen lymph nodes and an elevated white blood count, two indications of leukemia. "He is suffering from leukemia," Msgr. Pierre said in a Jan. 20 telephone interview. "I saw his throat ... you can touch it (the swelling from cancer) and feel it on his neck." But, the monsignor said, it still lifts his spirit when he visits Father Jean-Juste. "I find him courageous and strong morally," Msgr. Pierre said, adding that the priest is around 60 years old. "He doesn't look like someone who is afraid of sickness."

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