Florida Catholic | Cuban Bishops Hope New President Will Respond To Citizens

Cuban bishops express hope

The bishops said they hoped the new president and legislature “can begin to satisfy the longings and concerns expressed by Cubans.”

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Published: 02.26.08

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HAVANA (CNS) | Cuba’s Catholic bishops expressed hope that the country’s new president, Raul Castro, and the governing council he heads will respond decisively to the demands of the island-nation’s citizens.

In a statement released Feb. 25 in Havana, the Cuban bishops’ conference said it prayed that the legislature, known as the National Assembly of People’s Power, the governing Council of State and the president would move ahead “decisively (with) transcendental measures that we know must be progressive.”

The bishops said they hoped the moves “can begin to satisfy the longings and concerns expressed by Cubans.”

The statement referred to the call made by the island’s “top authorities” in September and October for Cubans to debate “the most urgent problems of all kinds” that were affecting the people.

“They called for this to be done with clarity and courage,” the bishops said. “We also want to renew our vote of confidence and with Christian hope express these desires to the new president, Raul Castro, the Council of State and the National Assembly of People’s Power, keeping before us always the common good of the Cuban people, whom we serve.”

Raul Castro was chosen Feb. 24 to replace his brother, Fidel Castro, who resigned because of illness after nearly half a century in power. Fidel Castro temporarily handed his duties over to Raul Castro July 31, 2006.

The bishops said they prayed, as they did in 2006, that “nothing will perturb the greater good of peace.”

They said that the official designation of Raul Castro as president and the coinciding official pastoral visit to Cuba by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, were events “of an exceptional nature.”

Cardinal Bertone’s Feb. 20-26 trip was 10 years after Pope John Paul II’s historic 1998 visit to Cuba. Before leaving Feb. 26, Cardinal Bertone was scheduled to become the first foreign official to meet with the nation’s new president.

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Cuban bishops express hope

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