The D Frente platform, which brings together activists, intellectuals and Cuban opposition groups, addressed a letter to Pope Francis on Tuesday requesting his mediation to free Cuban political prisoners.
The message quotes a letter published last Wednesday by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba, who urged the Government to consider the release of “a good number of those who are in prison” as a gesture of leniency before the end of the year.
D Frente points out how opportune the release of the almost 1,000 inmates that the Cuban regime tried on charges of sedition, attack and crimes against State Security would be, and who now suffer, in the words of Martí who also quoted, “the most devastating pain, the one who kills intelligence and dries up the soul”.
The organization asked the Pope to exercise his “good offices” to appeal to the island’s authorities, and recalled that many of the inmates have suffered “criminalization by the Cuban government of the exercise of universally recognized human rights, such as freedom of expression of association and peaceful protest”.
The organization asked the Pope to exercise his “good offices” to appeal to the island’s authorities
The letter may be signed by whoever wishes, by accessing D Frente’s Facebook profile or through a petition on the platform. change.org.
Last Wednesday, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba released its usual preparatory message for Christmas and the end of the year. The text exposed “the hunger, loneliness and lack of freedom” with which the Island closed 2022 and expressed the urgency of a gesture of goodwill on the part of the regime with the political prisoners.
In addition, the prelates announced the visit, next January, of Cardinal Beniamino Stella, former apostolic nuncio –Vatican ambassador to the island– during the Special Period and organizer of the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1998.
As of January 24, Stella will visit all the Cuban dioceses as a special guest of the bishops for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the trip of the Polish pontiff, who improved relations between the State and the Catholic Church.
This time, Stella, a diplomat who has confronted Castroism since his time as apostolic nuncio, is expected to inform Pope Francis about the atmosphere of “fear, mistrust, routine, lies and hatred” described by the Catholic hierarchs in his letter.
D Frente points out how opportune the release of the almost 1,000 inmates that the Cuban regime tried on charges of sedition, attack and crimes against State Security would be
The current pontiff has not only avoided being critical of the Havana regime but has also offered controversial statements on his friendship with Raúl Castro and the high esteem in which he holds the Cuban Revolution as a “historical example.”
In the hands of Francisco and his Vatican advisers is the possibility of a request for amnesty for Cuban prisoners, similar to those that the Catholic Church has already requested on the occasion of the visit of the popes to the Island. Bergoglio’s own trip to La Havana, in 2015, achieved the release of some 3,500 inmates. However, the Cuban bishops have had very little success in their requests for the release of those who have protested as of July 11, 2021.
Stella’s last trip to the island occurred in 2015, in the midst of the “thaw” between Cuba and the US. Her return took place in a similar context, when new attempts at dialogue were being developed between the two governments which, unlike at that time, , have dispensed with the mediation of the Catholic Church.
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