Word: islanded
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Rałl Castro is a master of mixed signals. Cuba's interim President recently agreed to allow representatives from the United Nations Human Rights Council to visit the island next year to inspect its notorious prisons and address its dearth of free expression. It was a concession Fidel Castro had long sneered at, and to many it was a sign that Raśl, who has ruled Cuba since major intestinal surgery sidelined his elder brother in 2006, might be willing to break with family tradition. But even as Raśl reached out to the U.N., his state security agents were arresting...
...human rights violation. There is also fundamental agreement in both Cuban and Catholic doctrine about caring for the weak and underprivileged. Still, the relationship has its limits amidst the government control of information and silencing of opposition movements, which have often included Catholic intellectuals and clergy. The island's leading dissident, Oswaldo Paya, is a devout Catholic and is often referred to as the Lech Walesa of Cuba. In December, Cuban security agents stormed a church in Santiago, beating and arresting a group of human rights activists who had gathered to protest the imprisonment of three other pro-democracy dissidents...
...Catholic Church's No. 2 official set to arrive in Havana on Wednesday night, just a day after Cuban leader Fidel Castro announced the end to his 49 years in power. It is perfect timing for the Vatican, which is aiming to play a central role in the island nation's transition into what many hope will be a post-communist future...
...Vatican's equivalent of a prime minister, will try to use the fortuitously scheduled visit to give a boost to local Catholic leaders and position the Church as a bridge for bringing political and economic freedom to Cuba. The initial priority is reinforcing Catholic religious life on the island. Says one Vatican diplomat who monitors the situation in Cuba: "Steps forward have been taken, but the situation remains difficult. There needs to be new churches built on the island... [and] complete religious freedom." Ultimately, though, Vatican leaders are aiming even higher. As the only institution besides the state with...
Roman Catholicism has never ceased to be a presence on the island nation despite the official atheist doctrine of the Marxist regime. Churches were never shuttered and diplomatic relations with the Vatican never interrupted, even as Cuban authorities closed Catholic schools and silenced Catholic dissidents. John Paul II's visit to Cuba in 1998, which Castro used to demonstrate his supposed openness, is credited with renewing religious sentiment across the island. Havana officials say today that the country now counts 520 Catholic parish churches, two seminaries, 1,000 priests and 1,500 Catholic missionaries. Bertone, who was invited by both...