Cuba’s first church inauguration since the revolution

January 28, 2019 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Jan 28, 2019 / 06:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The first new Catholic church in Cuba since the the country’s revolution 60 years ago was inaugurated on Saturday.

Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Sandino, 45 miles southwest of Pinar del Rio, was inaugurated Jan. 26. It is the first of three new parishes to be completed; the other two will be in Havana and Santiago. It was built on land granted by the state.

"To see this finished is like coming out of the night into the day," said Father Cirilo Castro, who supervised the construction of the church, according to CNN. "We knew it would happen one day," he added.

The church is a sign of the country’s increase of religious freedom. Communist rule was established soon after the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, which ousted the authoritarian ruler Fulgencio Batista.

Under communism churches and schools were closed, and priests were exiled or assigned to re-education camps. The Church was driven underground until religious tensions in the country began to ease in 1991. St. John Paul II then visited the island in 1998. Pope Francis played a role in the 2015 restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US.

The construction of Sandino’s new church building, which seats 200, was made possible by a $95,000 donation from St. Lawrence parish in Tampa, Fla.

"From the day they put the first stone we have been watching it grow little by little. Patience has given us this church," said Aleida Padrón Zabala, a Sadino resident who attended the church's inaugural Mass with her family, according to CNN.

Bishop Jorge Enrique Serpa Perez of Pinar del Rio commented: “Sometimes you have to overcome many obstacles but then you get to a point where things can be accomplished.”

If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.

Related Articles

No Picture
News Briefs

‘We’re in a very different time now’: Montreal officials oust crucifix from City Hall

March 21, 2019 CNA Daily News 3

Montreal, Canada, Mar 21, 2019 / 03:32 pm (CNA).- Montreal’s City Hall doesn’t need Christ, officials have said.

A crucifix that has hung on the wall of Montreal’s City Hall since 1937, reminding city officials to let God guide their decisions, will be taken down for a renovation project, never to be put back, local sources have reported.

City councilor Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde made the announcement at an executive council meeting this week.

“The crucifix was installed during an era that was completely different than the one we live in today,” Lavigne-Lalonde told the council, according to CTV News Montreal.

“We now live in a society that has evolved and is represented by democratic institutions that must be secular, neutral and open to all citizens,” Lavigne-Lalonde added.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante agreed.

“I truly believe and based on all the discussion that has been done in the past, that it doesn’t have to be in city council where it is a secular institution. This is a place where we make decisions and it was originally put there to support decision making,” she said at the meeting. “I think we’re in a very different time now.”

Plante added that the decision is a “recognition of the role of secularism in the institution, and for me, there is a stark distinction between individual and institutional secularism,” she said, according to the CBC.

City officials also said they will be removing another crucifix that is hung in a different room in city hall.

After the decision was announced, the Archdiocese of Montreal issued a statement saying that the crucifix is a symbol of the Christian roots of Canada and doesn’t need to be removed in a religiously pluralistic society.

“As a sign revered by Christians, the crucifix remains a living symbol. It symbolizes openness and respect toward all peoples, including toward other faith communities and religious traditions, which rightfully adhere to their own signs and symbols,” Archbishop Christian Lépine said in his statement. “Nevertheless, nothing forbids us, and our respective beliefs, from being present in the public space in an attitude of respect and openness, since we share the same common humanity,” he added.
 
“When it comes to transmitting spiritual and communal values in a spirit of togetherness and solidarity, the crucifix is laden with meaning, expressing and encapsulating what fortifies the population of Montreal since its foundation, a legacy of which we can be proud.”

Issues of religious freedom and the display of religious symbols have been prominent issues in Canada recently, and Montreal’s decision brought up an ongoing debate about the crucifix that hangs in the legislature building of Quebec. According to the CBC, Premier François Legault of Quebec has previously defended the crucifix’s place in the province’s National Assembly, even while he backed a bill that would have banned the wearing of religious symbols by civil authorities, such as cross necklaces or hijabs. The bill was recently tabled by the legislature.

But after the Montreal decision, he balked: “There are good arguments for and some arguments against, and right now we have a debate. We have to find a compromise,” Legault told CBC. “I accept the decision of the City of Montreal.”

Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette of Quebec, who backed the religious symbols bill, told CTV News that the National Assembly does not have to follow the decision of Montreal to remove their crucifix.

“They can do what they want about that. The National Assembly has always decided to maintain (the crucifix) and that’s the position of the government because it’s a (historical) symbol,” he said.

[…]

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*