null / Ira Lichi/Shutterstock.
Denver Newsroom, Nov 13, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
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Pope Francis meets with Vatican journalists on Nov. 13, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
Vatican City, Nov 13, 2021 / 11:30 am (CNA).
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Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski.
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The 2019 USCCB fall general assembly / Catholic News Agency
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 13, 2021 / 00:00 am (CNA).
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Prostock-studio/Shutterstock.
Dublin, Ireland, Nov 12, 2021 / 16:27 pm (CNA).
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A protest of Cuba’s communist government in Havana, July 11, 2021. / Domitille P/Shutterstock
Havana, Cuba, Nov 12, 2021 / 15:01 pm (CNA).
The Cuban bishops’ conference on Thursday indicated its support for the right of citizens to express themselves freely, without fear of intimidation and reprisals, shortly before marches protesting the island’s communist government planned for Nov. 15.
“Every person deserves esteem and recognition of his dignity, for his condition as a human being and a child of God, for being a free citizen, a person with rights and duties. Consequently, every Cuban should be able to freely and respectfully express and share their personal opinions, thoughts or convictions, even when they disagree with the majority,” the conference stated Nov. 11.
A “Civic March for Change”, a peaceful demonstration in several cities of Cuba that seeks to repeat the protests which took place across the country July 11-12, has been announced for Nov. 15.
The bishops lamented that in recent weeks “the increase in a climate of tension and confrontation that is not healthy nor benefits anyone.”
“Any act of violence between us, whether physical, verbal or psychological, seriously wounds the soul of the Cuban nation and contributes even more to the sorrow, suffering and sadness of our families,” they said.
“A wounded soul is in no condition to build a future of hope. Violence contradicts the will of God, as Christ has said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God’,” they added.
The bishops consider there is “an increasing urgency for the involvement of Cubans in a national project that involves and motivates everyone; that takes into account the differences, without exclusions or marginalizations.”
“We think that it is necessary to implement mechanisms where, without fear of intimidation and reprisals, everyone can be heard and the dissatisfaction be channeled, in the face of the harsh daily realities that overwhelm so many, especially the most impoverished and vulnerable,” they continued.
The Cuban bishops said that it is “indispensable to implement the necessary changes, so long desired, that favor a decent and happy life here for all the sons of this land of ours.”
The bishops urged “everyone to spare no effort so that the way to understanding, reconciliation and peace is paved; in such a way that the various proposals on the present and future destiny of our country, find an area of common sense, tolerance and concord, and a harmonious and civilized dialogue is established in which the best solutions to the problems that concern us can be found. “
“How much would so many Cuban families and the Church itself be grateful, and how much social tension would be diminished if there were a gesture of clemency for those still under arrest for the events of last summer!”
Prisoners Defenders, a Spanish NGO that provides legal defense for human rights, reported Nov. 4 that Cuba has detained 683 political prisoners in the last 12 months.
In addition, the NGO said it has been possible to determine there were 591 active cases during the month of October, and that of that group, 370 remain in prison since the protests of July 11.
Protests took place across Cuba July 11-12. Protesters cited concerns about inflation, shortages of food and medicine, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Some protesters were beaten, and thousands were arrested.
Communist rule in Cuba was established soon after the conclusion of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, which ousted the authoritarian ruler Fulgencio Batista.
Pregnancy Test. / Flickr/Ernesto Andrade.
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Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square after the Wednesday general audience, June 1, 2016. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Nov 12, 2021 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis has called on governments to take urgent action against the production of child pornography in an interview with the French magazine Paris Match.
“I believe that governments should act against this delinquency as soon as possible. The groups responsible behave like mafias who hide and defend themselves,” the pope said.
“Their victims are children and minors who are used for filming; so many people, so many young people, sometimes even minors, watch these things.”
The publication of the pope’s condemnation of pornography on Nov. 11 came days after a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced to life in prison on convictions of sex trafficking of youths under 18, child pornography, and sexual exploitation of children.
In the interview with the French publication, the pope also responded to a landmark report published last month which estimated that hundreds of thousands of children were abused in the Catholic Church in France over the past 70 years.
Pope Francis underlined his sense of “shame” in response to the report — a word he also used when he spoke the day after its publication at a general audience.
“To the victims, I wish to express my sadness and my pain for the traumas they have endured and my shame, our shame, my shame that for so long the Church has been incapable of putting this at the center of its concerns, assuring them of my prayers,” he said Oct. 6.
The pope said that when speaking of this shame, he recalled “the Prophet’s words, ‘To Thee, O Lord, be the glory, to me be the shame.’”
Pope Francis has repeatedly called this year for the legal protection of human dignity online.
In an audience with the International Catholic Legislators Network, the pope urged the use of public policy to combat child pornography, data breaches, and cyber attacks.
“In our age particularly, one of the greatest challenges confronting us is the administration of technology for the common good,” the pope said on Aug. 27.
“By means of policies and regulations, lawmakers can protect human dignity from whatever may threaten it. I think, for example, of the scourge of child pornography, the misuse of personal data, attacks on critical infrastructures such as hospitals, and the spread of false information on social media and so on,” he said.
The full interview with the pope will be published in a book in French, “Pourquoi eux: Ils ont fait notre époque” (“Why them: They made our epoch”), by Caroline Pigozzi on Nov. 18.
When asked in the interview about his health after the pope’s colon surgery last July, Francis responded: “I am doing well. I lead a normal life and can work at the same pace as before.”
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