RELIGION-CUBA: Criticism Puts Church Unity in Question

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Sep 28 1999 (IPS) - Priests in eastern Cuba criticised the Catholic Church hierarchy for not taking a firm stance on government policies, contradicting the Church’s image of unity in facing the island’s social and political situation.

The leak of a document written by priests from four diocese has resulted in what some observers call a “small earthquake” among ecclesiastical leaders because it reveals evidence of the Church’s internal divisions.

Unity has been crucial for the Catholic Church of Cuba since the socialist revolution 40 years ago, though religion analysts point out that this does not necessarily mean unanimity of opinion on the country’s social, political and economic life.

The document states that “unity has been an indispensable condition for survival,” though it emphasises such unity “must be enriched with new types of diversity” and become “more dynamic.”

“In the versions I’ve seen, the document underscores different nuances in the Church’s positions, even in its interests,” affirmed a researcher who asked not to be identified, as he awaits further information for analysis.

The material, a “working document,” was drafted in July at the National Sanctuary of El Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba, 967 km east of Havana, by priests from the island’s four eastern diocese.

But its contents were not released until September 22 in an edition of the ‘Nuevo Herald,’ a newspaper in the U.S. state of Florida, home to the largest community of Cuban exiles.

The text, given to the Nuevo Herald by a priest who asked to remain anonymous, contains harsh criticisms of the Fidel Castro government, which it calls “totalitarian.”

But the document also states that the Church of Cuba has stood back “with its arms crossed,” and watched the difficult situation of Cuba’s 11 million people.

The working document indicates that the Catholic hierarchy has not given its “firm support” to an “eminently” peaceful dissidence, and that it did not utilise the spaces opened by Pope John Paul II’s January 1998 visit because it did not want to risk the progress made possible by the visit.

The four priests call for analysis of the “serious problem of paternalism evident in the relationships” between bishops and priests, and priests and parishoners, for “fear that they go too far.”

In its final paragraphs, the document says the Church’s silence “regarding the new repressive laws is at least as worrisome as its silence on the fate of the four dissidents who wrote ‘The Homeland Is for All’.”

In February, the Cuban parliament passed Penal Code reforms and a law that stipulates punishment for anyone thought to be a collaborator with the United States blockade of the island.

In early March, the courts used the new law, sentencing the dissidents, Vladimiro Roca, Félix Bonne, René González and Beatriz Roque, for sedition, with prison sentences ranging from three and a half to five years.

The archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, Pedro Meurice, clarified that the priests’ text is not an official Church document, nor was it written for publication, but was drafted “to prompt discussion and work in groups” at the July meeting of priests.

“The working paper served as a discussion topic, and generated diverse opinions,” said Meurice. The archbishop’s homily at the mass led by the Pope in Santiago de Cuba included opinions about the nation’s socio-political situation that contrasted with the moderate tone taken by the other bishops.

The meeting of clerics in eastern Cuba also included a priest from Havana and another from Santa Clara – a city 300 km from the capital – according to Meurice.

Sources from the Catholic laity said that some priests from the grassroots of the island’s eastern cities had expressed criticisms against the Castro government, presumedly without the backing of their superiors.

“The Catholic hierarchy apparently does not like such gestures of independence,” but it may be a deliberate strategy, consisting of “permitting these spaces in order to apply pressure indirectly,” a researcher on socio-religious issues told IPS.

In a letter distributed by the Conference of Catholic Bishops press office among the accredited foreign media, Meurice acknowledged the authenticity of the document printed in the Nuevo Herald.

But he clarified that “at no time” was the text submitted for the approval of the priests meeting at the National Sanctuary of El Cobre, “nor does it reflect the nature of the conference.”

The bishop avoided referring to the contents of the document, in which the Church is held responsible for acting passively toward a regime that “has taken over all aspects of life.”

“Dialogue inside and outside (the Church) continues to be the Church’s choice for handling questions of national life. Sincere, respectful and fruitful dialogue is the aspiration of the Church in its relationship with the Cuban State,” said Meurice in his brief note of clarification.

Copies of the 13-page text began to circulate over the weekend among diplomatic and media circles. The document makes its public appearance on the heels of a U.S. annual report on the limits of religious freedom in Cuba.

Diplomats and the press agree that the document’s criticisms of the government and the situation of the island are the strongest expressed by priests here in a long time.