Cuba Libre!

RICHARD A. SOKERKA

The massive protests that took place across Cuba last month were the most widespread the communist country has seen in decades. The protesters, many of them young people, shouted “Freedom,” “Down with Communism,” and “Patria y Vida,” translated as “Homeland and Life,” a battle cry among protestors in direct opposition to the Cuban communist slogan of “Homeland or Death.”

They also cited concerns about shortages of food and medicine, which have continually plagued the island where socialism has trampled freedoms since 1959.

Since the protests, at least 400 people have been detained and many of them have been unable to contact their families, and human rights movements are calling their arrests “forced disappearances.” Cuban leader Miguel Díaz Canel called on the “communist revolutionaries” to fight those who protested. He has also locked down the internet to put an end to the protests on social media.

Catholicism has historically been the majority religion since Cuba’s colonization with some 60 percent of the people of Cuba identifying as Catholic.

Within a week of the protests, bishops and priests in New Jersey, the home to more Cubans than any other state than Florida, held a prayer vigil July 18 in St. Joseph of the Palisades Church in West New York. Cubans living in the state filled the pews to “Save Cuba from Tears and Anxiety,” showing the solidarity of the Church with the people of Cuba amid their calls for freedom from the oppression caused by socialism.

And last week, in an eight-minute video, some 30 American bishops and priests of the Cuban diaspora sent their prayers and a message of support to protesters on the island.

Archbishop Nelson Jesús Pérez of Philadelphia and the son of Cuban parents, said in the video: “This is a message for the Cuban people who are suffering these moments of difficulty, injustice, oppression, and lack of respect for human rights. Know of our prayers, our love, our affection, and solidarity with all of you. May Our Lady of Charity hear our prayers, protect you, and bring peace. Included in the video were two priests of the Diocese of Paterson. Father Ricardo Ortega Jr., pastor of Annunciation of the Virgin Mary parish in Wayne, encouraged his compatriots to continue to “defend your own right to truth, justice, and love between brothers and compatriots.” Cuban native Father Enrique Corona, pastor of both St. Agnes and St. Michael the Archangel parishes in Paterson, stated, “I am with all Cubans, inside and outside of Cuba. We are here to let you know that you are not alone.”

Cuban-born Bishop Manuel Cruz of Newark expressed his “respect and unity with my Cuban people. I know the pain, the suffering of our people, and the time has come for our homeland to have freedom. Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, save our people and homeland.”

Pope Francis said July 18, “I am near to the dear Cuban people in these difficult moments, in particular to those families suffering the most.” Referring to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the Patroness of Cuba, the Pope said, “I urge all Cubans to entrust themselves to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary of Charity of Cobre.”

“The United States stands with the brave Cubans who have taken to the streets to oppose 62 years of repression under a communist regime,” said President Joe Biden July 22, also announcing new sanctions against elements of the Cuban regime.

But protesters marched in Washington, D.C. July 26 to put more pressure on the Administration to take further action to support the Cubans fighting for freedom.

Minority House Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), sent a letter to Presi­dent Biden requesting a meeting to discuss support for the Cuban people. “This is a moment when the United States can change the course of human history for the better,” McCarthy’s letter read, “We must support our Cuban brothers and sisters as they seek to take control of their future and liberate themselves from the communist malignancy.”

Cuba Libre!