Claiming that the Church is involved in arms trafficking, some radio hosts in Haiti have called for attacks on Catholic institutions, the Fides news agency reported.

The Church “is not involved in the arms trade,” the Caribbean nation’s bishops said in response. “Stop sowing confusion among the population. Defamation and slander are serious sins.”

“The situation of poverty and insecurity that is rampant everywhere clearly shows that our state authorities do not have the ability to bring the country back to normal,” the bishops also said in their recent statement. “The people need to live and have every right to live with respect and dignity.”