Cuba’s “Habemus Papam”

Posted on Sunday, 06.10.12
CATHOLIC CHURCH

Cuba's "Habemus Papam"
BY JOSE AZEL
jazel@miami.edu

Upon the death of the pope, the College of Cardinals of the Catholic
Church gathers in secret conclave to select a new pope. The maximum
number of Cardinal Electors allowed is 120. During the process, these
Princes of the Church are sequestered and are not allowed any contact
with the outside world: no television, newspapers, mobile phones, etc.
If workers in Vatican City run into a cardinal, they are forbidden from
speaking to him. The cardinals must take an oath that they will follow
the rules and keep absolute secrecy about their deliberations.

After each vote, the ballots and all notes are burned, and smoke from
the burning of the ballots appears over the Vatican Palace. Black smoke
signifies no agreement; white smoke signals that a new pope has been
elected. Shortly afterwards, the Proto-Deacon of the College of
Cardinals steps into the main balcony of the Vatican and declares to the
World: "Habemus Papam!" "We have a Pope!"

Recent statements in Cuba's Catholic media reflect this elitist church
tradition of exclusion and secrecy. Espacio Laical, a publication run by
the Lay Council of the Havana Archdiocese; Palabra Nueva (New Word), the
archdiocese's own magazine; and a letter signed by bishops and vicars of
Havana's Bishops Council, all use confrontational and exclusionary
language to condemn those criticizing the tactics of Cuban Cardinal
Jaime Ortega.

The publications characterize critics of the cardinal's Chamberlainian
approach as factions full of hatred and prejudices with very little
political intelligence. The argument is subtly made that Ortega alone
has divined the right methodology for orderly and peaceful changes in
collaboration with the Cuban government's gerontocracy. In a modern day
auto-da-fé, the archdiocese's editorials declared that those who
disagree with the cardinal exclude themselves from Cuba's future.

It is perhaps understandable that Cardinal Ortega and his Episcopal
Council feel more comfortable interacting behind closed doors with their
counterparts in the Cuban government than with the church's
parishioners. During Cuba's struggle for independence, the church
similarly sided with the brutal Spanish crown and not with the freedom
seekers. The church has a controversial but successful 2,000-year
history with its elitist, top-down, nondemocratic governing structure.

However, the expressed disdain for inclusive, bottom-up, democratic
participation by citizens in Cuba's future is indefensible.

When politico-economic decisions are made without transparency by an
elitist cabal of mandarins, citizen participation is nonexistent.
Opposing this discriminatory, pretentious approach is not, as church
officials claim, "an immature lack of political intelligence." It is, in
fact, a mature expression of political acumen and a rejection of the
penchant for messianic, caudillistic leadership that has been so
prevalent and so damaging in Cuban history.

It may make church leaders uncomfortable, but the legitimate and
constructive expression of discontent is a necessary condition for a
free, prosperous society. The church seems to ignore that governmental
policy, unlike religious doctrine, must be supported by a citizenry that
has confidence in the legitimacy of a system of independent
institutions. All unchecked power exercised over a long time degenerates
into a caste system.

Mirroring the Catholic Church's traditions of leadership succession,
Cardinal Ortega and his Ecumenical Council have decreed that the path
for Cuba should be one of top-down "encounter, dialogue and consensus."
But that formula excludes participation by the citizenry and demonizes
anyone who dares to object to the restricted government-church conclave.

There is, of course, another path. The church could and should support
an inclusive call for bottom-up citizenry participation through free,
multiparty, democratic elections under international supervision. But
this, I suppose, is what would classify as scanty political intelligence
outside the cardinal's methodology.

This inclusive alternative was pointed out in a recent article by Cuban
democratic activist Marta Menor. She reminds His Eminence that, as he is
a prince of the church, all Cuban citizens are princes of the nation and
thus entitled to select their leaders freely.

Cubans do not aspire to see black or white smoke coming out of the
Castros' command post and a military general declaring "Habemus
Dictator!" They aspire to all the vicissitudes of exercising their
rights and duties as citizens of a free nation. Amen.

José Azel is a senior scholar at the Institute for Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, and the author of the
book, Mañana in Cuba.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/10/2840010/cubas-habemus-papam.html