Cuban Catholic bishops call for political reform

Posted on Monday, 09.16.13

Cuban Catholic bishops call for political reform
BY ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
ASSOCIATED PRESS

HAVANA -- Roman Catholic bishops in Cuba called for political reform in
tandem with social and economic changes already under way, issuing their
first joint pastoral letter in two decades that was presented to
reporters Monday.

The document from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba urged
authorities to bring about a political opening that includes "the right
to diversity with respect to thought, to creativity and to the search
for truth."

"As has been happening with the economic aspect, we believe that in our
Cuban reality, a renovation or updating of national legislation in the
political order is essential," reads the letter, titled "Hope Does Not
Disappoint."

Jose Felix Perez, secretary of the Bishops' Conference, said a copy was
delivered to island officials and "it is hoped that the letter will be
read with the same spirit with which it was written ... constructively."

There was no immediate public reaction from the government, and
authorities did not respond right away to a request for comment.
Officials have repeatedly said that changing Cuba's Communist political
system is off the table.

The Communist Party is the only one allowed in Cuba, though membership
is not a requirement to hold political office. The government does not
recognize any legal status of opposition groups, which it accuses of
being financed from overseas and trying to undermine the revolution.

It was the first pastoral letter from the Bishops' Conference since
1993's "Love Awaits All," which stirred controversy at the time for its
criticism of the government.

The new document also applauded President Raul Castro's reform program
begun in 2010, which has included things such as increasing private
small business activity, legalizing home and used car sales,
decentralizing state businesses and ending a widely detested exit visa
requirement that for decades made travel abroad difficult for many.

But the bishops said much remains to be done.

They highlighted as an example the low salaries of professional and
government workers in key sectors such as health and education,
something that Castro recently acknowledged is a problem that must be
solved.

The Church also called for dialogue between Cubans of differing
opinions, and for Washington to end its 51-year-old economic and
financial embargo on Cuba.

"The geographic proximity and family ties between the two peoples are
unavoidable realities that should be taken into account in order to
encourage an inclusive policy, through respect for differences," it said.

Cuba has a relatively low percentage of practicing Catholics compared
with elsewhere in Latin America — less than 10 percent, next to 84
percent in Mexico. But the church has played an important role in recent
years as one of the few independent institutional voices on the island
and an interlocutor with Castro's government.

It was instrumental in negotiating a pact under which the last of 75
opposition activists jailed in a 2003 crackdown were freed from prison
in 2010 and 2011.

Last year, then-Pope Benedict XVI made a high-profile trip to the island
and met with both Raul and Fidel Castro.

He was following in the footsteps of his predecessor, John Paul II, who
visited in 1998 and famously urged Cuba to open itself to the world, and
the world to open itself to Cuba.

Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

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