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Subscribe to RSSPope Benedict arrives in Cuba, 14 years after Pope John Paul's visit to the island. The Pope's visit is expected to help strengthen ties with the Cuban Catholic Church. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
HAVANA, Cuba – At the historic San Francisco de Paula church, in a working-class neighborhood of Havana, Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Petit recently walked the long hallways where priests, nuns and lay workers were busy caring for some of Cuba's elderly and infirm and also operating an orphanage. Outside the church is a sign welcoming the pope: "Bienvenido a Cuba Benedicto XVI."
Petit hopes during the pontiff's three-day visit to the island his messages will provide an important boost for the Cuban Catholic Church and perhaps even inspire some gradual changes in Cuban society. "I don't know what the words will be, but I think they will suggest more respect for human dignity,” he said.
Since the Cuban revolution in 1959, the Catholic Church has struggled to raise its public profile here. For decades, under the Marxist government of Fidel Castro, the church was ostracized and believers were punished. The country was officially declared atheist until the government loosened that description in the 1990's.
But, with Fidel Castro out of power now and his younger brother, Raul, in charge, the church has become much more accepted by the government. Recently, Cuban Cardinal Jamie Ortega negotiated the release of more than 100 political prisoners, although he was criticized by human rights activists after most of the prisoners were sent into exile.
NBC analyst George Weigel discusses Pope Benedict's trip to Cuba and that Vatican's firm anti-communism stance.
"The church has now been accepted as a legitimate and important interlocutor of the government on sensitive topics like freeing political prisoners, the conditions of those in prison, the treatment of dissidents," said Jorge Dominguez, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "This is a wholly unprecedented role for the Roman Catholic in Cuba for the past half century."
With funds and supplies donated from overseas, the church also provides much-needed social services now as the government struggles to reshape Cuba's troubled economy. Church-run food banks and retirement homes along with medicine distribution centers have become lifelines many of Cuba's extremely poor.
"It is very convenient for the government that the church will engage in activities providing for people in need," said Juan Clark, a Miami Dade College professor emeritus and an expert on the Cuban Church.
Still, tensions remain over the issues of religious and personal freedoms.
Last year, the church convinced state security to stop harassing the "Ladies in White," a church-based dissident group. However, two weekends ago, three-dozen members of the group were detained during a protest march in Havana. Ironically, 13 other dissidents who recently sought sanctuary in a Havana basilica were turned over by church officials to police, sparking accusations the church may have actually grown too close to Cuban leaders.
Pope Benedict is now urging Cuba to find new alternatives to Marxism – patiently and peacefully – as the Catholic Church maintains a delicate relationship with the Communist government here.
The pope’s first stop on Monday will be Santiago de Cuba, the island's second city where he will celebrate a large open-air mass. On Tuesday, he visits the town of El Cobre, home to a tiny wooden statue of Our Lady of Charity, a symbol revered by all Cubans – Catholic and non-Catholic alike.
Later that day he flies to Havana for what is expected to be a meeting with both Raul and Fidel Castro. On Wednesday morning he will celebrate another mass in Havana before departing the country.
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Actually, the Vatican contributed quite a bit to the fall of European communism. Pope John Paul II was Polish and had little love for communism and did support Lech Walesa. In addition, it is fairly well documented now that JP2 and Reagan (as well as Bush and Clinton) had a good working relationship. Catholics are to be found everywhere--built-in Intel in almost every nation on earth. That's why so many political leaders curry the pope's favor. I'm no ardent supporter of Catholicism, but it looks like they learned the error of their ways after WW2.
So who surpassed the Catholic Church in aiding Jewish fugitives during world war two?
freedomist: Not sure of the intent of your post... however, since you asked, how about this for an answer: Those Europeans of all backgrounds with the courage and conscience to defy the threats of an occupying army from a dictatorial police state. As to the Catholic church its greatest failure was mainly one of silence. Pope Pius XII privately did some good things, but publicly did little beyond vague condemnations of atrocities--vague wording that was intentionally so.
Not an answer. Freedomist's question is what group exceeded the Catholic Church in aiding Jews during WWII? "Everybody else" is a poor response.
Bill. Your reading of my post was poor, not my answer. I didn't say "everybody else..." I said courageous and conscience bound Europeans of all backgrounds--that includes Catholics. The church had no monopoly in this matter (good or bad).
And besides, Bill, Italy was in bed with Hitler, so it would have been nearly impossible for the Vatican to speak outright.
I am a fallen Catholic. I respect the church though. I am happier as a Presbyterian. I am glad to see Cuba opening up to them. They do good deeds and have definately learned their lessons and are internally asking our Father for forgiveness however they would never confess their sins to the public. With one exception, the exoneration of Galileo in 1990's. It only took them 300 years or so to do that....I wonder if Galileo got to go to heaven then...
We should stop overthrowing Castro until he leaves.
The Pope is actually there so his advisers can pick out a few hundred young, good looking, innocent Catholic boys to bring over to Rome as 'alter boys'.
Words of jealousy.
You are a sick and demented moron.
LOL Yeah, right, we're all just a bunch of homosexual pedophiles looking for little kids to molest and 'jealous' that the pope and his cronies are so successful at it. XD
Dammit, Matt2631617 - I was just about to write something like that - you got here first!
Matt's right, you people - this Pope of yours should be prosecuted for harboring pedophiles.
Matt: Why don't you leave the comforts of your mommys' basement and go out and find a job.You don't really need your new Apple product just to spew your relentless vimon towrads over 1 billion people!
mas098 - did you mean "venom"...? Find a dictionary.
@joe
Coming across as childish really won't help with your argument. It seems to me that you either have a superiority complex, or you just don't have an argument for mas.
Wow, well, the projection is strong in this thread.
On a more serious note, the current pope protected pedophiles. He specifically ordered priests and bishops that the police should NOT be contacted, that the problem should be handled from within. And, then he shuffled the pedos until nobody knew which cup had a pedo under it, and put them in new churches.
It's three-card monty, only, instead of losing $20, your child gets raped.
Babble on about JP2, Vatican II, Pius XII, I don't really care. They have no real authority, they have done demonstrable harm through propaganda in Africa against condoms (and for circumcision, which is total medical bull@!$%#), and their latest "saint" turned out to be a masochistic faitheist who let people suffer immense pain to "bring them closer to Jebus" when all they needed was some painkillers (yes, Mother Theresa was an @!$%#, and lost her faith, and didn't bother to examine her own morals).
Janstince:
lol...
I bet I can figure out which city you live in, which totally nullifies any points you have to make because you're all loons.
*sings: "If you're going to Saaan Fraaaancisco..."*
Observer_1 -
Wrong, moron. I happen to be educated, not brainwashed. And recent evidence has shown that circumcision has no statistically significant effect in preventing the spread of AIDS. Not only that, but it is rather horrible to make the decision for a person to mutilate them without them even having the capability of consenting to the practice, particularly when said practice has been shown to have negligible medical benefits.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for outlawing circumcision altogether. I just think it would be more appropriate if the individual was consulted when they are at an age capable of understanding the pros and cons. There are SOME medical reasons circumcision is a viable, sometimes even necessary, action. NONE of those reasons have to do with some guy who supposedly existed and wandered around a desert and tried to kill his own kid in a fit of madness, only to spare his kid's life in another fit of madness.
I'm confused. Didn't you just say that circumcision was, and I quote: "TOTAL medical bull@!$%#" ?
Circumcision is total medical bull@!$%# when it comes to AIDS or other STDs. That's what the Catholic Church is promoting in it's "studies" to show that condoms are not necessary.
Circumcision is a medical treatment for certain developmental problems, like a tightening or hardening of the foreskin which then restricts use of the penis. It has no other medical benefits, and the process of doing it to infants without their consent (because no matter what, you cannot get consent from an infant) is a waste of time, energy, and a violation of rights and ethics in my opinion.
But I suppose you are correct, there are some medical benefits to circumcision. It's a shame that those are not the conditions being treated when most people perform said mutilation, or at all when the subject is an infant.
Sadly, he is no John Paul II. I understand the kind of power a Pope possesses to influence political leaders, but Bennie just doesn't seem to have the same kind of charisma and understanding of people that Pope John Paul II had.
I'd like to see the pope dance.
Does he do the Fandango? I bet he likes pole dancing. (That can be taken 2 ways, depending on whether he favors strippers or boys)
Sick. And let's see you dance in your 80s!
Klone ...you have a disturbed mind...to say the least.
Another example of a person who searches for every possible way to inslut people he doesn't agree with. Grow up. Maybe then you'll be half as good as the pope.
So just how does president obama believe that getting re-elected will give him flexibility on the treaty? As the supposed expert Constitutional lawyer just where in the Constitution does it say that getting re-elected gives him any flexibility at all?
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states the following with regards to the issue of treaties; He (referring to the President) shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties provided two thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall........ (the remainder of the paragraph has nothing more to do with treaties).
The only flexibility he may gain as a result of being re-elected is if the democrats gain more seats in the Senate or there are a bunch of republicans willing to sell this country down the river. This shows how imperative it is that more republicans be elected to the Senate.
It must be pointed out that as president obama is attempting to negotiate with the Russians on reducing nuclear weapons Russia is helping third world nations to acquire nuclear weapons, will. these nations be nothing more than surrogates to Russia when we are left defenseless because we have reduced the number of nuclear weapons?
The Republicans are already selling us down the river!! They don't do anything unless there is money involved!!
Don't worry Jon even after the negotiations we would still have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world a thousand times over, then you can stay safe in your moon colony. What does Obama have to do with Pope visiting Cuba? That's right absolutely nothing.
Any religion that says its teachings is better than other religions is doomed for failure. This is what Islam did and Christians did by in middle ages (1400 to 1950 AD). These proselyting religions are fighting each other now. There is only one cosmic truth and the path for man (or woman) to seek divinity can be many but ultimately there is one GOD (or superior force). To seek spirituality or divinity one has to stop eating meat and killing animals (or eating dead meat killed by someone else). The day one realizes that the life force in plants and animals is also GOD or Lord Shiva or Allah or Jesus (what ever name you call), then that person can make progress.
Question: How many muslim mullahs (or religious leaders) or Christian religious leaders are vegetarian??
Is POPE vegetarian or does he meat (dead animal killed by some other person)?
So you seem to be saying your teaching is better than every one else's?
"Any religion that says its teachings is better than other religions is doomed for failure."
That's all religions. Some may not push it as much as some others. But all religions put there's above all others.
Why would you make a religion (or, if you don't believe they are "made", why would you believe a religion) that puts other religions before it or holds them on the same level? That's just poor promotion.
If a Catholic were to tell you "honestly, Judaism and Islam have the same God anyway, so it doesn't make a difference which one you are," I would contend that he's not much of a Catholic.
Planet Vega your home world? Make sure they stamp your passport every time you come or go to/from Earth. Deal politely with the Men in Black.
*
What does being a vegitarian has to do with religion? You are eating plants, they are living beings as well, just not as animated.
For those that seem to find any opportunity to criticize Cuba and it political, economic, and social system with "no skin in the game" or unbiased opinions, allow me to provide you with a few personal facts - as someone who lived on the island for many years prior to, and after the triumph of the 26th of July Revolutionary Movement, I can attest to not only the brutality and inhumanity of the Batista dictatorship and the corruption of the Cuban Catholic Church and its close association with that dictatorship. Cuban Cardinal Arteaga was an intimate confidant and collaborator of that despicable and bloody regime headed by Fulgencio Batista and sustained by the United States.
I speak from personal and painful experiences since several members of my immediate family were persecuted, jailed, horribly tortured, murdered and dumped on the streets of my city, where we found their bodies while riding bicycles on the way to our Catholic school.
My own home, on mere suspicion, and false information provided by a whistle-blower, was surrounded and invaded by an entire army and police contingent, armed to the teeth with automatic weapons, seeking evidence of bombs and Molotov cocktails. Nothing was found, but my cousin, who lived with us while going to school and who was active in anti-dictatorship activities, had to flee on foot while being pursued and shot at by the lackeys of the regime thirsting to spill more innocent blood. Fortunately, he found refuge at a neighbor's home where he was hidden in a secret cellar while the search continued and until he could be smuggled out of the city, past the army checkpoints and police patrols.
For those of you who might think we sympathized with the Revolutionary cause and simply got what we deserved for opposing the regime, let me explain that mine was an upper middle class family of entrepreneurs, professionals and ranchers that slowly, over time, came to abhor and repudiate the politics, policies and blood-curdling brutality and senselessness of that dictatorship, evolving into supporters of the revolutionary movement spreading throughout the island and led, not only by the rebels fighting in the mountains, but by students at all levels from high schools to universities. Towards the end, the overwhelming majority of the country turned their backs on the dictator. Only the very elite and some other opportunists remained attached and committed to the Batista government and the blood bath that stained Cuban streets during the worst of the repression.
When we felt the Revolution had taken a path different to what was expected and/or promised, and believing on so many falsehoods, exaggerations, misinformation and outright lies being disseminated internally and externally, emanating from the radical exiles in the US and from the US government, my family opted to leave the country, arriving on foreign soil with only the clothes we were wearing. We lost it ALL - homes, businesses, lands. We left it all behind because we simply no longer believed in the new system.
The passage of time has allowed me to observe and analyze the history and evolution of the present Cuban government and I have come to understand the situation with clarity, dispassion and realistically.
I understand why the government took the actions it did to rid the country of out-sized and controlling foreign influences. It did what, at the time, it deemed reasonable to confront the constant hostility and aggression emanating from the exiled Batistianos and other discontents, as well as the multitude of acts of sabotage and assassinations planned and/or executed by US agents of the CIA. All this culminating in the disastrous invasion at Playa Giron or what we refer to as the Bay of Pigs, subsequently escalating into the October Missile Crises. All of which I lived and experienced.
For those who might think Cuba was endangering the US with those missiles, allow me to perhaps expand your line of thinking in that respect by reminding you that the US had nuclear missiles pointed at the island which had constantly been the subject of unmitigated acts of murders, sabotage, aggression and invasion. From the Cuban perspective, mine included at that time, Cuba was a blink away from total vaporization at the hands of the US, and therefore, we had every legitimate right to our self-defense, thus permitting the old Soviet Union to install them on our territory. The common thread among those of us on the island was that if we were to be exterminated we would at least take a few US cities with us. It did not level the playing field for us, but it would provide a retaliatory action against the US, which might perhaps serve to prevent such attack on the country. Just as the US sees it in its own national interest to develop nuclear weapons and maintain them at the ready in case of an attack on its territory, the Cuban people felt the same in that respect. Those missiles were for defense, not offense, and intended to serve as a deterrent against further invasions.
I don't support the Marxist ideology but I do support the Cuban nation in it right to sovereignty, and to choose its own political, economic and social system.
As an American lawyer friend, very much involved in US political life and who has travelled to Cuba, once stated to me - "the only reason the US maintains an embargo against Cuba, is simply because they realize the potential and work ethic of the Cuban people to make their system work, thus we cannot allow them to be the first Communist to succeed at our very own door step". I cannot agree more.
As a final point on the Catholic Church in Cuba, I am a product of Cuban Catholic School education. The church did indeed have extremely excellent schools, however, the church hierarchy was very much in cahoots with the governmental bureaucracy and the dictatorship, if not endorsing, not condemning the abuses and excesses of the brutal dictatorship. Many of those priests, from the Cardinal to Bishops to parish priests were in extremely close cooperation and communion with the Batista regime. That is the main reason the Revolution expelled so many and closed down all their schools, charities and hospitals, turning its back on the church.
The times "they are-a'changing". Amen to that!!!!! Thanks for listening with an open mind.
Wow that was long!
Thank you for the very informative and intriguing post!
Hey, Cuba can be whatever it wants. It's just worth pointing out what a massive failure its economy is and will be until it reforms.
The Soviet Union was the curtain call, but now even China's given up the ghost and lets people make money. Marxism is dead.
In the end, sovereignty is an excuse, not an end in itself. It's no excuse for oppression and a destitute population.
FYI, my grandfather was exiled from Cuba when Castro took over. He is not so forgiving to the current government.
Carl Ivan... you made a few errors in your historical points. Castro did not place the nuclear missiles to defend our country, Krushev actually suggested and force the issue to provide a closer base of missiles against the US using the pretext that the US has missiles pointed at Cuba. Castro crazy ideas was to control the missiles and fire them to the US regardless of any more invasions of Cuban exiles freedom fighters..but he did not control them, the russians did, not a single military General....(Generales para que, se acuerda) in the Cuban army had any control of those missiles, they were only control by Russia. We change one Imperialistic country, with plenty to offer, with a more cynical, criminal Russiam imperialism that did not have any thing to offer, just missery, death and hunger. It gave everyone the opportunity to be equal, equally poor, but not the Goverment elite. Go and put that on your historical book.
"When we felt the Revolution had taken a path different to what was expected and/or promised, and believing on so many falsehoods, exaggerations, misinformation and outright lies being disseminated internally and externally, emanating from the radical exiles in the US and from the US government, my family opted to leave the country, arriving on foreign soil with only the clothes we were wearing. We lost it ALL - homes, businesses, lands. We left it all behind because we simply no longer believed in the new system."
Quoting you from above. My guess is that you and your family "left it all behind" not just because you stopped believing in the new system because the Cuban exiles were telling falsehoods, but more likely because of the frequent purges orchestrated by the "new system"...namely Che Guevera and company...who periodically rounded up members of the educated middle-class and no one ever saw them again. I've read in most historical accounts that tens of thousands of middle class Cubans were put to death in the name of the revolution. And of course you left home, businesses, and lands behind to come to the U.S. You wouldn't have kept them if you'd have stayed and survived the purges. The communist government confiscated everything privately owned within ten years of the revolution. If you'd have stayed, you'd have likely lost everything anyway. The truth is up until a few years ago, people in Cuba weren't even allowed to raise and keep extra chickens or pigs for their own family use...nor plant gardens or grow their own vegetables to eat or sell for extra money. Everything in Cuba belonged to the state.
"As an American lawyer friend, very much involved in US political life and who has travelled to Cuba, once stated to me - "the only reason the US maintains an embargo against Cuba, is simply because they realize the potential and work ethic of the Cuban people to make their system work, thus we cannot allow them to be the first Communist to succeed at our very own door step". I cannot agree more."
The resiliency of the Cuban people is something indeed to admire in the face of the Bautista regime and then under the marxist one that followed.
But, c'mon, insinuating that the ongoing failure of the Cuban economic system is the fault of the U.S. embargo on Cuba? In other words, "the U.S. keeps the embargo in place to keep the Cuban people in poverty as a matter of pride in our own system." Or something along that line? Wow. Lets see...the rest of the world now doesn't have embargos on trade with Cuba? The E.U. doesn't. Canada doesn't. Latin America doesn't. Asian countries don't. South Africa doesn't. There are few travel restrictions from anywhere else in the world for people to travel to Cuba. Just the U.S. So if the system there with the hard working Cuban people was so great, and they were free to trade with the rest of the world, then why does the country STILL have the worst poverty per capita in the Western Hemisphere? Ok...Haiti has the worst, but at least they can claim the earthquake destroyed 90% of their infrastructure. So that is what the economic system in Cuba has produced 50 years AFTER the revolution...an annual argument with Haiti over who has worse poverty?
Did you know that Cuba imports about 80% of its food? In a place with rich soil, lots of rainfall, and where pretty much everything will grow...Cuba can't even feed its own people. Is that because of the U.S. embargo? Cuba used to export about 36% of the world's sugar supply. Under current communist control that is now about 7% of the world's sugar supply. Is that because of the U.S. embargo?
I don't think so. The time has long since past where you can blame the crippling poverty in Cuba on the U.S. The regime's stubborn adherence to Marxist policies over the past 20 years (while the rest of the world's communist governments all gave way to free market reforms) have crippled any kind of improved lifestyle for Cuban people.
So when your friend blames the U.S. embargo for keeping Cubans away from realizing their potential? I call that a b.s. cop out. He needs to blame Fidel & Raul as the ignoramouses that they really are. They rank right up there with the Kim family in North Korea who also can't feed their own people. Even communist China has realized that after you establish state control of industries, with time the path to improving standards of living and the economy is to introduce simple market reforms.
Simple things like allowing people to "own property" from their homes to chickens or cattle. And to allow them to use these as a means of production...to sell eggs or milk to improve their own lifestyles. It ain't the U.S. that is keeping the Cuban people down...its the Castros. Be thankful your family got the heck out when they did. You have a much better life today than you would have had there. There is nothing to admire about Cuban "progress" since about 1965.
And I say to you, Mr. Carl, that national sovereignty is complete illegitimate bull@!$%# when human rights are concerned, and when what you can do, will do, or are doing effects others in some direct or indirect way.
As for the events you mentioned, I'm not familiar with all of the details, but national sovereignty as well as other international agreements, and treaties have their limits.
What ever good or bad the believes and values that we share are NOT the believes and values of the rest of the world, Therefore the relations between two countries with different opinions does not have to be bad out there. I am sure that Fidel and friends are tickle that somebody like the Pope stop by and say hello !! ( it doesn't happen that often you know )
Nice post. I would like to add however that communism forbidded religion because they wanted the people totally subservient to the govt.
"forbidded". Is that a word? Just use forbid.
...my mistake. I think the proper word in this case is 'forbade'.
Ok.
I know very little about Cuba and its' history. I did work with a Cuban who left the country many years ago to be with his wife and children in the U.S. and I found him to be very intelligent and great to work with. Because he could speak Spanish, he was a big help to me when we were auditing in Mexico City. About six years ago I realized that the U.S. has not added a state to the Union since two were added in 1959. I wonder why. Anyway, could Cuba become our 51st state. Of course not. However, if Barack Obama were to lift the embargo against the country, I think over the course of two to three years there could be some major changes in their ideology in regards to governing. Especially with Cuba's desire to let more people visit their country as tourists. If the embargo is lifted, and their living environment improves, just remember you heard it here first. Overall, I know the Cuban Citizens are great people and I wish them the best and hope some major good comes from the Pope's visit.
Your Cuban "helpers" were likely are some sort of spies for the government!According to what I have read,only those true members into the Communist Part are allowed higher educations , travel and work permits outside the country!Probably picked you clean!
Yeah, sure. What is the Cuban government going to do with foreign intelligence?
Hopefully figure out the reason why their nation has been a stagnant mudhole for decades.
I agree that the embargo should be lifted, but that's a touchy subject. As I understand it, a lot of the Cuban exiles and immigrants want to see the Cuban government punished and isolated, not engaged diplomatically.
My grandfather's one of them. He would consider engaging with Castro the same as engaging diplomatically with Al Quaida.
The catholic church may walk a fine line, but it looks like the Pope is going to walk across a tightrope with those shoes on.
Enough already with the pope and the priests and the catholic church. Don't they have their own, TAX-FREE, website, newsletter, AND public relations firm?
We're starting to resemble Iran's obsession with the Ayatollah ......
It might just be me, but it seems like this story is more important for Cuba than for the church.
I recommend that he dance the Macarena, Cuba is a little behind the times.
That's right. Now go and infect Cuba with the poison that is Catholicism and Christianity. Stop spreading this hateful cancer.
At least you separated Chatolicism and Christianity. They are not the same. Christianity is reality. Religion is what man made up with a shot of christianity in it to make it look good. Do you realize that for 1400 years, the only time that you would hear anything out of the Bible was from the mouth of a Catholic priest. And it was in latin. Traditions of the Catholics or reading the Word of the Bible. Two different things. It was against the church policy to own a bible. When the catholic church percicuted anyone that would speak out against what their latin volgate said, you better have a big gun. The catholic church burned Wycliffe at the stake for printing a non-latin, no-catholic Bible and used the books that he printed as kindling to start the fire. Nice RELIGION. Not Christianity.
You seem to be a bit behind on the times. I can't think of any Catholic alive that would want that back. That was the most corrupt and greedy institution at the time, I'll admit. It's not like God would hold it against Catholics today for the sins of the past.
lots of good and bad info here,
What about GLAAD!Do they have thier own,tax free website,newsletter and public relations firm?I think maybe so!
The pope , Catholic Church , and Cuba do have something in common . They want money and power over the people . Being under communist rule is pretty close to living under a churches rules . Its a great brain washing ! I was an altar boy !
I am happy the Pope has the courage to speak out against a government that wishes to destroy Our church and stop people from believing what is right inside their hearts. There is no politics in this, only spirit, and the right to learn to love one another in a loveless world that has forgotten about how to be spiritual.
why does the pope always wear the same bridal gown every day?
Because he's married to, oops.
Because he's married to...God. You nailed it. If it doesn't make sense, go complain to God. He'll set you straight.
Memo to Pope Benny. Nobody wears red shoes after Christmas
Any government that forbids religion is a government that a free person cannot and should not tolerate. Everyone should be allowed to worship in whatever peaceful way they see fit and the government should not have the power to exert mind control over its citizens. In Cuba they censor, they limit the Internet, they completely control what is taught in schools, what you are paid, what you can buy, what you can sell, and they eliminated God for decades. Americans have no idea what it is like to live in Cuba. Try it and you will soon see why people are willing to risk their lives on rafts and inter tubes to leave there.
Seriously, Cuba should at least look into the China model of "Communism without all the Marxism". All the oppression and corruption, but without the stifling command economy that ensures widespread poverty and misery! It truly is the best of both worlds (depending on who you are)!
Pope Benedict looks like a vampire. lol
Until the end of the embargo, all that is just a waste of time. There is no other solution for the lack of freedom in Cuba than the end of the embargo. The enemies of the end of the embargo are enemies of the poor Cubans who suffer under Castro.
Really, their self proclaimed leaders have nothing to do with the lack of freedom in Cuba?
The Pope could give last rites to the little tyrant from Venezuela as he is also in Cuba
Lots of Progressive bigots posting their hate here today
MSNBC thinks it's OK to be a Progressive Bigot but not ok to be in the KKK. Whats the difference?
Creepy old men, with a fetish to f**k 5 yr. old boy's in the *ss, and feel compelled to feel good about it....sick!!!!
It must be sad living a life of hate, intolerance, and dependence on the media. I know I can't change your mind. You've already made it.