The Catholic Church in Cuba: Beyond the Headlines

[Catholic_Press]

HAVANA — In a run-down church, half hidden by a giant city dumpster, a lively priest sits behind an old brown desk near a faded picture of Mary. He ticked off an impressive list of pastoral activities: baptisms are up, visits to Catholics in jail are allowed, free medicine is being provided to the elderly and breakfasts to preschool children are hot.

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[JimG]

Just wanted to highlight this part, which explains why most Cuban emigres to the US are so firmly opposed to relaxation of relations with the communist government in Cuba.

“In the 1960s, the regime confiscated Catholic Church property, including hospitals; closed Catholic schools — including the elite Jesuit high school, Belen College, in Havana, where Castro himself graduated; banned Catholic publications; and ran most priests off the island, either through expulsion or intimidation. Some were jailed. Many Cuban seminarians and priests were forced to perform manual labor, including Cardinal Jaime Ortega, archbishop of Havana since 1981, who was ordained in 1964, then spent seven months in a forced labor camp — termed a Military Unit to Aid Production — just two years later.”