The Vatican and US Cuba Relations

Being Cuban, I suppose that I have a whole lot to say on this Cuba relations issue based on President Obama’s announcement recently founded on a request from Pope Francis. Since the announcement, Americans seem to think this is their issue alone, if you listen and see how they have politicized it on the news and on social media like Facebook, it seems they have placed it in there along with all the other issues that they are completely polarized on which is the very reason the popular votes in most recent elections in the US are almost all split right down the middle. Well, before I get side-tracked, this is about Cuba and Cubans mostly, and Cuba was a sovereign nation before the Castro’s, and I suppose since the president wants to assume now that the Castro’s are a legitimate government, we will somehow acknowledge it as sovereign nation. That is just how I feel; it isn’t as if because of Castro the physical presence of the island on our common planet went away just as if before 1948 Jews did not exist historically since there were no borders or a Jewish state called Israel. That would almost imply that the holocaust probably didn’t happen which would be completely wrong and malicious to assume. All this, however, is beyond me because this should probably go to referendum amongst all Cubans worldwide since we do have a diasporas similar to the Jews after 70 AD because of Castro’s revolution. For some reason with relevance to Castro, I continue to think of Dave Grohl’s lyrics: “hook me up a new revolution…cause this one was a lie” which would be an understatement when speaking about the Castro brothers. CNN already even took a poll, and the results were:

"About six in 10 Americans favor diplomatic relations with Cuba and two-thirds want the travel restrictions to the island lifted, according to the poll of 1,011 Americans conducted after Obama announced a landmark deal with Cuba to relax sanctions and ease some travel restrictions ((http://www.cnn.com/)."

Obviously, two-thirds want the travel restrictions removed, so maybe no one cares about the history we Cubans have endured, as long as Americans get to enjoy the hundreds of natural beaches the island has to offer once again. Whether Americans like it or not, I will perhaps on this issue alone agree with something Senator Marco Rubio said which was:

"Cuba already enjoys access to commerce, money and goods from other nations, and yet the Cuban people are still not free. They are not free because the regime—just as it does with every aspect of life—manipulates and controls to its own advantage all currency that flows into the island (http://www.wsj.com/)." 

But, I think the best article so far which reflects how I feel was written by Carlos Eire, professor of history and religion at Yale University, and his article is titled: As a Cuban exile, I feel betrayed by President Obama. The article was published by the Washington Post on December 22, 2014. I am sure that many of the Americans polled by CNN will not feel the same as many of us Cubans because simply they are NOT Cuban. I also would not assume that a poll taken of only 1,011 Americans, although scientific, really represents accurately how the 300 million plus of us Americans actually think on anything depending on how and what questions are asked, not to criticize CNN, I enjoy watching CNN often. Regardless, I highly recommend reading Carlos Eire’s article at the following link:

            http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/22/as-a-cuban-exile-i-feel-betrayed-by-president-obama/.

Seemingly, I have gotten side-tracked, some would say right about now because the title for this post is still The Vatican and US Cuba Relations. Well, not so fast, I did say I was Cuban, so obviously I was going to rant on about the topic more than most. Let us just say this was a much needed foundation and introduction to the post from my perspective, since this is also my blog. I really never thought in a million years that I would be writing about politics that are related to my own countries (I am a citizen of the US, and I was born in Cuba). The idea for my post was actually inspired by an article written by Bill Tammeus on his blog, Bill's 'Faith Matters' Blog. Bill’s article is titled: A long Vatican effort on Cuba: 12-20-21-14. I the article, Bill explains how,

"Pope Francis has received considerable credit for influencing Obama's decision, but as this piece correctly notes, several previous popes have lobbied for better relations between the U.S. and Cuba (http://billtammeus.typepad.com/my_weblog/2014/12/12-20-21-14.html)."

As the whole story unfolds, we understand that secret meetings were held in Canada between Cuba and the US.

“Canada hosted about seven meetings between the U.S. and Cuba that helped lead to  Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that the two countries will establish full diplomatic relations, a senior Canadian government official said....The meetings were held in Ottawa and Toronto from 2013 to 2014(http://bigstory.ap.org/article/954643e6d99c481b8b919ddd84744a9e/canada-hosted-secret-meetings-between-cuba-and-us.).”

But, where does Pope Francis get in on this matter as President Obama said? Pope Francis wrote a book back in 1998 titled: Dialogues between John Paul II and Fidel Castro. Back then Pope Francis was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and when Pope John Paul II visited Cuba at the time, he also attended and was present. Consequently, I am sure we can all put two and two together and see this is not a new interest for the now Pope Francis. A Huffington Post article says the following about Pope Francis’ 1998 book:

"Bergoglio harshly criticized socialism and by extension Castro's atheist revolution for denying individuals their "transcendent dignity" and putting them solely at the service of the state. At the same time, he denounced the U.S. embargo and economic isolation of Cuba that impoverished the island...Bergoglio fervently believes as did John Paul that dialogue was the only way to end Cuba's isolation and its hostility to the Catholic Church while promoting democracy (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/pope-francis-cuban-book-_n_6360274.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051.)”

I personally have not read the book in reference: however, it seems that the Pope’s interest is that the Cuban people eventually have a democracy for a government instead of a tyranny, and this indeed is my wish as well. Since this is an ecumenism blog, I believe and think that the interaction between various church groups is and should be of utmost importance to the entire ordeal. However, how dialogue is done and conducted in the future must somehow be representational of all Cubans on this planet, as well, and how we feel should be taken into consideration since this is the soil we were all born on. It would be best if the matter could be put as a referendum vote for all Cubans, as I said before, but obviously since Cuba is a dictatorship that would be impossible under current conditions, so this whole thing is a very complex matter as I have said to so many of my friends. To conclude, although I could probably talk about this topic endlessly, no opinion of any Cuban that is living should be disregarded, as Thomas Jefferson once said in a letter to James Madison "the earth belongs in usufruct to the living." Blessings and Merry Christmas! I hope all those who celebrate Hannukah, as I also do, had a wonderful eight days!

References:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/954643e6d99c481b8b919ddd84744a9e/canada-hosted-secret-meetings-between-cuba-and-us

http://billtammeus.typepad.com/my_weblog/2014/12/12-20-21-14.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/23/politics/cuba-poll/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/pope-francis-cuban-book-_n_6360274.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/22/as-a-cuban-exile-i-feel-betrayed-by-president-obama/.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/marco-rubio-the-turning-point-in-relations-with-cuba-1418862936