A dialogue for unity
Lissy Rodríguez
An encounter between Cuban evangelical and
protestant leaders with
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, first vice president of
the Councils of State and Ministers and a member of
the Party Central Committee Political Bureau, on the
30th anniversary of the first meeting between
Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro and leaders of the
Cuban Inter-Faith Council, served not only to
commemorate the date, but also to discuss current
challenges facing the organization.
After the first encounter in 1984, considered to be
milestone in relations between the church and State,
the practice of holding systematic meetings between
all religions and the leadership of the country has
become a constructive tool to promote work and
dialogue.
Joel Ortega Dopico, president of the Cuban Council
of Churches - institutional leader of the Cuban
inter-faith movement -, highlighted the importance
of sustaining these relations and the role the
organization has played, at crucial moments, for the
Revolution, such as its “staunch opposition to the
U.S. blockade against the Cuban economy, fighting
for the return of Elián and the release of our five
anti-terrorist brothers from the unjust
incarceration they have been subjected to in the
U.S.”
Among the participants were present six figures from
the first encounter: Pastor Raúl Suárez, for
example, recalled the different exchanges held
subsequently and the words expressed by Fidel, who
commented on the need for mutual understanding
between religious and State institutions and Cuban
society.
Meanwhile, Reverend Pablo Odén Marichal stated
that “protestant churches have been a means of
cultural penetration in Cuban society” and given
this reality he urged for “a greater strengthening
of the ethical and behavioral work of the faith
toward the community of believers and society, based
on human and patriotic values.”
Among other priorities he emphasized greater
participation of the inter-faith movement and
churches in the search for solutions to problems
facing Cuban society, such as an aging population,
also stating that “we must revive Fidel’s idea of a
strategic alliance between revolutionary Christians
and Marxists, for which permanent dialogue is
necessary.”
Díaz-Canel commented on the importance of
transmitting this historic occasion to the current
generations in order to strengthen dialogue and
unity among Cubans. He described the event as an
encounter of faith, friendship and memories, stating
“it is touching to remember all those moments - lack
of understanding at certain times which was later
overcome through respectful dialogue.”
He also expressed the desire to address concerns
about Cuba’s social and economic order, as well as
challenges being faced in the struggle to strengthen
and promote social values, “in order to prevent the
establishment of a base of neocolonial and
neoliberal capitalist reconstruction. This is the
struggle we must assume, strip away all the pseudo
culture, all the banality and selfishness and
individualism,” he concluded.
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