(EFE).- The Conference of Jesuit Provincials in Latin America and the Caribbean (CPAL) lament this Wednesday the forced departure from Cuba of the superior of that order on the island, the Dominican David Pantaleón, after the Havana authorities did not renew his residence permit.
“His departure fills us with sadness, but at the same time with gratitude for all the good received through him. In his new mission he will be deeply united with the Cuban people, both in their joys and in their sorrows,” CPAL indicates in its Web page.
Last Tuesday, Pantaleón – also president of the Cuban Conference of Religious Men and Women (CONCUR) – had to leave the country after sources close to the Catholic Church explained to Efe in Havana that the priest did not agree to the request. of the authorities to control the critical political comments of the personnel of the Jesuits on the Island and his residence permit was not renewed.
At the beginning of this year, the authorities told him that his residency was not going to be renewed, so Pantaleón had to temporarily leave Cuba and return later with a three-month visa that expired in September.
The Dominican accompanied “many religious men and women and the various initiatives of the Conference, including the accompaniment of prisoners and their families”
In the note, the CPAL assures that “his fellow Jesuits, his friends and friends, the people he served with dedication, joy and generosity during the last years greatly appreciate his service, his kindness, his closeness and his affection, as well as his ability to evangelically confront any type of violence and its openness to dialogue”.
The text – signed by the president of the CPAL Roberto Jaramillo – adds that, during his five years of service on the island, the Dominican accompanied “many men and women religious and the various initiatives of the Conference, including accompanying prisoners and their families” and highlights their “decisive and firm mission for reconciliation and justice”.
His main clash with the Cuban authorities was when, together with other religious, he asked to be allowed to bring aid to the activists of the San Isidro Movement on hunger strike at the end of 2020, which was denied.
Given this, Pantaleón wrote on social media: “It’s not about left or right ideologies. It’s about things as simple as the right to live, to express what one thinks, to discuss differences without ‘demonizing’ the On the contrary, to respect the dignity of all”.
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