AMERICA/CUBA – The Church continues to be a presence of hope and reconciliation, in the midst of a wounded people and deprived of fundamental rights – Agenzia Fides

Havana (Agenzia Fides) – Solidarity with the Cuban people due to the difficult social situation they are experiencing continues to be expressed at different levels. Yesterday at the Angelus Pope Francis, who visited the island twice (2015 and 2016), exhorted after the Marian prayer: “I am also near to the dear Cuban people in these difficult moments, in particular to those families suffering the most. I pray that the Lord might help the nation construct a society that is more and more just and fraternal through peace, dialogue and solidarity. I urge all Cubans to entrust themselves to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary of Charity of Cobre. She will accompany them on this journey”. Peace, dialogue and solidarity are the wishes of many Latin American Bishops’ Conferences, dioceses and Catholic groups, which express their solidarity with the Cuban people. In Mexico, the editorial of Desde la Fe, a publication of the archdiocese of the capital, informed: “Thousands of Cubans, from many cities, took to the streets to express their discontent over the terrible economic, social and health situation that Cuba is experiencing”, reads the note sent to Fides, “the Bishops have recognized the right of the population to raise their voices”. The Statement of the Cuban Bishops in the aftermath of the demonstrations on Sunday, July 11 (see Fides, 14/7/2021) is a strong sign of the tireless presence of the Church which needs our listening, our help and above all our prayer, underlines the editorial. The Cuban people, who right now are also suffering from a virulent Covid-19 infection, without vaccines, without medicines and with collapsed hospitals, should be an appeal to all Christians in the world, in this situation of chaos, violence and incitement to the division by the same government. For the Spanish religious, many of whom have been missionaries in Cuba, “that Church, silent for years, has been able to remain in the heart of the Cuban people, in front of whom it has a credibility and a respect that does not exist in other democratic countries of the so-called First World, in countries with a deep-rooted Catholic tradition”, reads a comment released by social media and sent to Fides by the Spanish Vida Religiosa.

AMERICA/CUBA – The Church continues to be a presence of hope and reconciliation, in the midst of a wounded people and deprived of fundamental rights – Agenzia Fides