13 April 2007

Faith, Repression and Complicity in Cuba.


The Cuban regime continues to ratchet up the repression on the few dissenting views on the Island:

The Cuban Catholic church's magazine Vitral, long a unique outlet for critical commentary and analysis on Cuba, has announced it will cease publication ''for lack of resources.'

“Church activists said the decision was taken under government pressure.”

''Because of the sharpness of its position toward the political power and its commitment to civil society, Vitral had become a dangerous stone that worried both conservatives in the church and hardliners in government,'' said one of the activists, who asked to remain anonymous because of fears of retribution.


On Easter Sunday, we found out from Havana that the Cuban Catholic Church is not interested in standing up and pointing out the human rights abuses of the Cuban regime, but rather “dialogue”. You can only have one master the Lord or the Devil. The Cuban Catholic Church has obviously chosen to be complicit with the devil because of its silence in Cuba.

Even the Vatican has been historically silent and non-confrontational with the Castro regime.

Go back to 1960-1961. The Church basically retreated when Castro started to nationalize its properties and expel its priests.

While discussing this with a Cuban exile with connections to the old Cuban Church, I was told that the silent complicity of the Church with Castro might be due to a deal where the church was allowed to ship its priceless Cuban religious treasures back to Rome. Castro apparently told them that if they would be allowed to keep their riches if they didn’t oppose them, otherwise all the Island’s religious treasures would be used to finance the revolution.
Hmmm....?

7 comments:

Tomás Estrada-Palma said...

Raul being repressive again? That damn embargo! When will it ever end so Raul can finally be a nice guy? Oh woe is me.

Gusano said...

the embargo and the global warming

Anonymous said...

How surprising...

Next on Castro's to do list:
-Set up concentration camps
-Genocide
-Make cuba his private island

Anonymous said...

While some of your comments, I believe, have some insights, they seem insensitive at best.

Its so easy for you to critize the Catholic church in Cuba from the comfort of your home here in the USA.

Anonymous said...

If you actually read the announcement from the Vitral website, you'll see all they said is they "can not guarantee" future editions of the magazine. This is not the same as "ceasing publication." I also found it interesting that you can still find very independent, anti-government texts on the website - particularly the one titled "CUBA: TIME OF OPPORTUNITIES." Sure they don't call for a counter-revolution and they make clear retribution is not in anyone's interest - but I was surprised that such a independent website and magazine had been allowed in Cuba given everything we hear.

Fidel pro democracy said...

I have to post with regards to this, one being a catholic, secondly, I never went to a church in Cuba, but I know now first hand the sacrifices that a missionary priest friend of mine goes thought daily, to bring the basic needs of evangelization to a few Cubans, I will defend my church at all cost and if not everything that they say or do looks progressive or radical, we need to wear their shoes before we criticize, I also like to point out that every one who is outside Cuba, is not risking his / her neck day in day out, most of us go to church the Pasqua a San Juan and we make our donations or help in the community, when we don’t have to worry of who is watching or where are we going to find food today. The most important part of my rant is that this also brings a divide in our efforts, that I am convinced they are the one and only of attaining democracy in Cuba, lets put the criticizing and start sending our support (financially) to our church in need, in other words put your money where your mouth is. God bless. God help us free Cuba.

Gusano said...

Fidel:
presicely because we must be united in working towards a free Cuba, it pains me to say that Ortega is not helping. The church is THE last vestige of a civil society in Cuba and it needs to do its part in freeing the Cuban people NOW. It needs to fulfill the promise of the Gospel to the Cuban people, not stand silent and cooperate with an atheist and materialistic aborration of a political system that negates God and free will. It is a sin of omission to see an injustice or evil act being comitted and stand by in silence and that is why I bring it up, not to criticize or judge.
The Church as a whole is no match for Castro and his amoral thugs and it should act accordingly.
but you're right in saying que el que esta fuera del agua nada bien.
saludos.