The Cuban Catholic bishops have expressed their solidarity with the “weary and overburdened people” of Cuba in a Christmas message intended to inspire hope in the coming of Jesus Christ.
“As pastors we look upon a weary and overburdened people, and feeling we are part of it, we invite all Cubans to turn to Jesus, the Son of God who becomes man, so that we can find the relief and consolation, peace and hope that we need so much,” the bishops state in their message. Cuba is the only nation in the Americas that has attempted to impose official state atheism on its people.
“Material deficiencies, spiritual exhaustion, insufficient personal, family, and national finances that severely affect our present life and darken the future, are weighing on the soul of the vast majority of Cubans,” the bishops note. “The already existing economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequences of natural phenomena provoke fears and uncertainties in the population.”
In the face of these difficulties, the government has no monopoly on solutions, the bishops suggest, while urging that “all proposals must be listened to and addressed.”
“A lack of dialogue implies that no one, in the different sectors, is concerned with the common good, but only with acquiring the benefits that power grants or, in the best of cases, with imposing their way of thinking,” the bishops state, quoting Pope Francis.
What is needed is “a dialogue not only among colleagues, but of friends to friends, of brothers to brothers, of Cubans to Cubans, who are all of us,” they add, “of Cubans who understand each other by talking and by thinking together are able to reach acceptable commitments.”
“A country grows when its different groups do not foster confrontation, but social friendship,” they state.
What is the “good news” that Cubans are looking for this Christmas? the bishops ask.
“Good news for Cubans would be that things change for the better and in peace,” they state. It would be a reformed national economy that “helps everyone to support their family with a decent job and a sufficient salary.”
Good news for Cubans would also be “avoiding violence, confrontation, insults, and disqualification to create an environment of social friendship and universal brotherhood,” they state.
Good news for Cubans would be for “intolerance to give way to a healthy plurality, dialogue, and negotiation between those who have different opinions and criteria.”
It would also be “that we Cubans do not have to look outside the country for what we should find inside; that we do not have to wait to receive from above what we can and must build ourselves from below.”
“Good news for Cubans would be the removal of all impediments, external and internal, to make way for creative initiative, the liberation of the productive forces and laws that favor the initiative of each Cuban, so that each one will feel and really be the agent of his own life project and, in this way, the nation will advance towards an integral human development,” they declare.
“With the approach of Christmas, we repeat the announcement of the Good News of the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior,” the bishops state. “This event has motivated happiness, generated commitment, and founded the hope of many men and women who, for more than 2000 years, have faithfully welcomed the Angel’s announcement on Christmas Eve.”