The Vatican’s belated explanations of its decision to prevent hundreds of anti-Castro Cubans from entering St. Peter’s Square last Sunday contrast with the silence maintained by those same authorities when, 13 years ago, a group of pro-Castro Italian militants broke into that The same place with a banner calling for the release of the five spies of the Island detained in the United States.
“Last Sunday some people wanted to enter St. Peter’s Square for a political demonstration during a spiritual and religious event, the Sunday Angelus officiated by the Holy Father,” says the Press Office of the ecclesiastical State in response to a question. from Radio Televisión Martí. “As far as we know, they were offered to enter the square as individuals, not as protesters, but they refused and continued their demonstration in Via della Conciliazione, a short distance from the square, without, it seems to us, any particular incident occurring. “.
In reality, a small “incident” did occur in San Pedro Square itself, where the police seized a Cuban flag from a kneeling young man who had managed to sneak in. According to the Catholic digital New life, What a date anonymous “Vatican sources”This fact was due to the “excessive zeal” of an agent. The press release of the Holy See does not speak of this.
In reality, a small “incident” did occur in San Pedro Square itself, where the Police seized a Cuban flag from a kneeling young man who had managed to sneak in
In a live broadcast on Facebook on Saturday, the influencer Alex Otaola, who had called that demonstration in Rome, had advanced that the Police informed them that they could enter St. Peter’s Square but that demonstrations inside the Vatican are prohibited, so he suggested to his followers that they meet there “as pilgrims, as religious, as people of faith.”
To the influencer, the official explanations do not satisfy him, and he insists that Sunday’s veto was due to “a manipulation of the Cuban Embassy, with its satanic power within the Vatican.”
That day, after they were forbidden to enter the square, hundreds of Cubans residing in Italy and other European countries lay down on the street in front of the Vatican, claiming Pope Francis for freedom on the island.
Many arrived dressed in white and covered with the national flag, and at various times raised their hands to make a sign of freedom with their fingers. Among the posters they carried were phrases such as “Mercy for the Cuban people” and “Homeland and life.” They also carried images of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patron saint of Cuba.
“The Pope is an accomplice of the communist dictatorship. He sees the Cuban people suffering, dying of hunger because of communism. The Cuban people have lived in prison for 62 years (…) and this man [el Papa] He does not say anything for the prisoners of Cuba, for the political prisoners of our country, he does not say anything, he is a scoundrel like dictators, “a Cuban woman said during the demonstration.
To the ‘influencer’, the official explanations do not satisfy him, and he insists that Sunday’s veto was due to “a manipulation of the Cuban Embassy, with its satanic power within the Vatican”
“We kneel in front of the Vatican because they do not let us pass, our faith does not deserve to be heard according to the Catholic Church, thus they segregate us and peacefully divide those of us who want freedom and human rights for our people,” the based activist wrote on his Twitter account. in Spain Lázaro Mireles.
The Italian police, protested Otaola, “does not have the authority to act within the Vatican, to prevent entry to the Vatican. The police entered St. Peter’s Square, even with weapons, to remove flags and who alone can authorize this It is the Pope or his group. ” Thus, the activist considers what happened “a discriminatory act, because there were Spanish, Peruvian and many other countries’ flags, but Cuban ones were not allowed.”
A week after the massive protests on July 11 on the island, Pope Francis expressed his concern about the “difficult moments” that Cuba was experiencing and urged “dialogue and solidarity.”
“I am close to the beloved Cuban people in these difficult moments, in particular to the families, who suffer the most. I pray to the Lord to help build in peace, dialogue and solidarity, an increasingly just and fraternal society,” said the pontiff.
Francisco, the first Latin American pope in history, visited Cuba in 2015 and then met with Fidel Castro at his home in Havana, a few months before his death, in 2016. His intervention in the negotiation process between the US and the island to start a normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2014 was admitted by Barack Obama.
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