The Conference of Catholic Bishops recognized the worsening of the existing crisis and the risks faced by the total fuel shortage.
LIMA, Peru – The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba aired this Saturday a message dedicated to “all Cubans of good will” in which he recognizes the progressive worsening of the existing crisis on the Island and the potential risks of “chaos” and “violence” in the face of the total fuel shortage.
The Catholic leaders alluded to another message from June 2015 on the occasion of the Jubilee Year in which they already spoke of “the painful and pressing reality” that Cubans were experiencing.
“At that time we imagined that things could not get worse and that, therefore, paths would be opened that would allow, progressively, to improve the lives of all of us who live on this earth,” the statement says.
However, the bishops recognize that unfortunately the situation has worsened and the anguish and hopelessness within the Island has worsened.
The Conference expressed concern about the recent measures by US President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency by Cuba, which announce, among others, “the elimination of all possibility of oil entering the country.”
“The recent news (…) triggers alarms, especially for the less fortunate. The risk of social chaos and violence between the children of the same people is real. No Cuban of good will would be happy about this,” the message highlights.
The Cuban Catholic Church warned that Cuba does not need more anguish or pain, but rather increasingly urgent changes. The declaration advocates for a renewed, prosperous and happy country, but without increasing the suffering of the poor, the elderly, the sick, and the Cuban children.
Furthermore, the bishops noted that governments should be able to resolve their disagreements and conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, not coercion or war.
“At the same time, respect for the dignity and exercise of freedom of each human being within one’s own nation cannot be subordinated or conditioned to the variables of external conflicts,” the statement states.
The message asked that “Cuba open itself to its own people” without exclusions or strategies that seek to favor only some. “For this, it is necessary to put the good of Cuba above the interests of any party,” the text highlights.
The Conference of Bishops on the Island indicated that it was available once again as a mediator of the dialogue between Washington and Havana to contribute to lowering the tone of hostilities and “creating spaces for fruitful collaboration in order to achieve the common good.”
The message ends by invoking the Virgin of Charity of Cobre and a prayer that good sense and sanity prevail over threats, discord and positions that “seem irreconcilable.”
