RELIGION-CUBA:
Catholic Church Wants
More Freedom to Do Its
Work
By Dalia Acosta
HAVANA (IPS) - Ten
years after the historic
visit to Cuba by Pope
John Paul II, who passed
away in 2005, the
Catholic Church
continues to call for
"unlimited" scope and
"due freedom" for its
social action
initiatives in this
socialist country, as
one of its most
important demands.
"The Church wishes to
expand its action to
other areas, without
limitations, to
contribute unwaveringly
to the well-being of the
Cuban people," said
Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, Vatican
secretary of state, in
his homily at a mass
celebrated in Havana’s
Cathedral Square.
The Cuban Church "hopes
to be increasingly
present and active in
the midst of society, in
ways appropriate to
today's world, carrying
out its urgent mission
of teaching, healing,
helping the poor and
promoting the dignity of
all people, whether
marginalised, displaced
or imprisoned," he said.
The open air mass held
on Thursday night, the
first of three that the
Vatican prelate will
celebrate during his
visit to Cuba, was
attended by the
president of the
National Assembly
(parliament), Ricardo
Alarcón, Foreign
Minister Felipe Pérez
Roque, and the City of
Havana Historian,
Eusebio Leal, among
other authorities.
This was the first mass
public event in Cuba
since President Fidel
Castro announced Tuesday
that he was stepping
down.
One of the national
television channels
broadcast the mass live,
which the government had
only ever done before on
the occasion of the
visit of John Paul II
(1920-2005). However,
the programme was
announced at very short
notice, and it is not
known whether other such
events on the Italian
cardinal’s itinerary
will be similarly aired.
In the context of his
request for greater
freedom for the Church
to carry out its work,
the Vatican’s number two
ranking official laid
special emphasis on the
issue of religious
schools, regarded as one
of the most sensitive
topics in relations
between Cuba and the
Vatican.
"In Cuba, Christian and
ecclesial charity also
has some manifestations
in the education of
children and young
people with learning
difficulties, and we are
hopeful that the church
can broaden its efforts
without reserve in this
important area of its
mission," he said in the
presence of Cuban
officials, the
diplomatic corps and the
faithful, who filled the
square to overflowing.
After the January 1959
triumph of the Cuban
revolution, education
was declared a universal
right. Private schools
were closed, including
those belonging to
different Christian
churches, and a public
education system was
established which covers
over 98 percent of the
school-age population.
There were serious
differences between the
Cuban state and the
Catholic Church until
the early 1990s, when
the government permitted
a certain amount of
religious freedom.
Relations improved
radically after John
Paul toured several of
the country’s provinces
in 1998.
While the Church has
maintained its
longstanding claims,
particularly to the
right of access to the
media and the
opportunity to
participate in the
educational system,
relations with the Cuban
state have been
respectful and based on
open dialogue,
acknowledged the
archbishop of Havana,
Jaime Ortega.
Before the mass in
Cathedral Square,
Cardinal Bertone met
with the members of the
Cuban Catholic Bishops’
Conference and expressed
his hope that, as
happened 10 years ago,
the commemoration of
this anniversary will
"contribute to giving a
new impetus to the
relationship between the
state and the Catholic
Church in Cuba."
That boost is needed "so
that in a spirit of
respect and mutual
understanding, the
Church can fully carry
out her mission,
strictly pastoral and at
the service of the
faithful, with due
freedom," he added.
Bertone delivered a
message from Pope
Benedict XVI to the
Cuban bishops, exhorting
them not to be
discouraged in
adversity. "At times,
some Christian
communities feel
overwhelmed by
difficulties, by the
lack of resources,
indifference and even
distrust, which can
cause disillusionment,"
the text of the message
said.
From Friday until next
Tuesday, when his visit
ends, Cardinal Bertone
plans to hold meetings
at the convent of
Discalced Carmelite
nuns, with the
presidency of the Cuban
conference of religious
orders, the Salesian
family and the Catholic
press. He will also
bless a monument in
honour of John Paul II.
His last two days in
Cuba will be taken up by
an official programme
with the authorities,
which includes a lecture
at the University of
Havana, a visit to the
Latin American School of
Medicine, a working
session at the Foreign
Ministry and a formal
dinner at the Apostolic
Nunciature.
Several sources declined
to rule out the
possibility that at some
point during those two
days, the Vatican
Secretary of State may
meet with acting
President Raúl Castro,
and even his brother
Fidel, who stepped aside
from active government
duties for health
reasons on Jul. 31,
2006.
Bertone said on Thursday
that he had conveyed an
invitation from Fidel
Castro to visit the
island to Benedict XVI
in October 2005. A
similar invitation, this
time from the Cuban
Catholic Church, was
issued by Cardinal
Ortega at the mass in
Cathedral Square.
The history of the
Church’s presence in the
region over five
centuries has been
"beneficial, and
characterised by intense
educational activity,
human development, and
respect for the lives of
all people," said
Bertone, as he stressed
the formative role of
Catholic education in
Cuban culture and
thought.
|
