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19 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we are told the early Christian community "had everything in common." In an effort to allow the United States and Cuba to have more in common, President Obama Monday directed his administration to permit unlimited travel and money transfers by Cuban Americans to family in Cuba and to take other steps to ease U.S. restrictions on the island. Most Americans seemed to support the moves. A poll released Wednesday suggested a substantial majority think it is time for a new policy tack with Cuba after decades of enmity between the United States and the only communist country in the Americas. Obama, set to leave on his first trip to Latin America this week with stops in Mexico and at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad-Tobago, is expected to address U.S. policy toward Cuba at the summit with Latin leaders. Obama's announcement on Monday was seen as an attempt to defuse tensions between the two countries. But former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 82, immediately minimized the gesture and called for more comprehensive measures, including an end to the 47-year-old U.S. economic embargo and the special immigration treatment the United States gives Cubans. Havana says that treatment fuels illegal emigration and brain drain. Cuban-American members of Congress criticized the administration for allowing Cuban Americans to send unlimited amounts of cash to Cuba without securing concessions from Havana. "It's a missed opportunity to not have first demanded from the Castro regime a drastic reduction in the outrageously high fees that families have to pay to the regime and its agents for both travel and remittances," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said. Source: Articles by Agence France Presse and United Press International

barack obama cuba cuban americans fidel castro ileana ros-lehtinen
Cigar, anyone?

19 Apr 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we are told the early Christian community "had everything in common." In an effort to allow the United States and Cuba to have more in common, President Obama Monday directed his administration to permit unlimited travel and money transfers by Cuban Americans to family in Cuba and to take other steps to ease U.S. restrictions on the island. Most Americans seemed to support the moves. A poll released Wednesday suggested a substantial majority think it is time for a new policy tack with Cuba after decades of enmity between the United States and the only communist country in the Americas. Obama, set to leave on his first trip to Latin America this week with stops in Mexico and at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad-Tobago, is expected to address U.S. policy toward Cuba at the summit with Latin leaders. Obama's announcement on Monday was seen as an attempt to defuse tensions between the two countries. But former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 82, immediately minimized the gesture and called for more comprehensive measures, including an end to the 47-year-old U.S. economic embargo and the special immigration treatment the United States gives Cubans. Havana says that treatment fuels illegal emigration and brain drain. Cuban-American members of Congress criticized the administration for allowing Cuban Americans to send unlimited amounts of cash to Cuba without securing concessions from Havana. "It's a missed opportunity to not have first demanded from the Castro regime a drastic reduction in the outrageously high fees that families have to pay to the regime and its agents for both travel and remittances," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said. Source: Articles by Agence France Presse and United Press International

barack obama cuba cuban americans fidel castro ileana ros-lehtinen
Dateline, Havana: Relations improving?

02 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

". . . . Put away the old self of your former way of life" is the counsel in this Sunday's reading from the Letter to the Ephesians. In a signal that the U.S. is putting aside old ways of relating to Cuba, its diplomatic mission in Havana has turned off a news ticker critical of the Cuban government that has angered Cuban leaders since it was turned on in January 2006 at a moment of high political tension. The ticker streamed news, political statements, and messages blaming Cuba's problems on the country's communist system and socialist economy. Throughout most of July the five-foot-high news streamer, which ran across 25 windows on the fifth floor of the U.S. Interests Section, has been turned off. Western diplomats in Havana said there were no plans for its crimson letters to be switched on again anytime soon. The turn-off comes amid moves by the Obama administration to ease nearly half a century of enmity between the United States and Cuba. "Like other Bush initiatives, [the ticker] caused lots of fanfare in Miami and very little impact in Cuba, and President Obama is right to bury it," said Phil Peters, a Cuba expert at the Washington-based Lexington Institute. The news ticker in Havana often sought to cast blame for everyday problems experienced by Cubans on the communist authorities. "Some go around in Mercedes, some in Ladas (a Russian car), but the system forces almost everyone to hitch rides," read one message, playing on a common complaint that there are few buses and that Cubans need government permission to buy a new car. In his angry reaction to the news streamer, Fidel Castro had accused the U.S. mission of becoming "the headquarters of the counterrevolution," which he said was in gross violation of diplomatic protocol. He ordered the parking lot in front of the building to be dug up and 100-foot-high flags installed to block the ticker from view. The Obama administration this year has also lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to the Caribbean island and sending remittances to family members. But Obama has made clear he will keep in place the 47-year-old trade embargo against Cuba until the Cuban leadership moves to improve political and human rights. "We're taking it step by step, seeing if, as we change some of the old approaches that we've been taking, we are seeing some movement on the Cuban government side," Obama told reporters last Friday in Washington when asked about Cuba. Source: An article by Marc Frank for Reuters

cuba cuban americans fidel castro obama administration havana ticker us interests section phil peters lexington institute
Dateline, Havana: Relations improving?

02 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

". . . . Put away the old self of your former way of life" is the counsel in this Sunday's reading from the Letter to the Ephesians. In a signal that the U.S. is putting aside old ways of relating to Cuba, its diplomatic mission in Havana has turned off a news ticker critical of the Cuban government that has angered Cuban leaders since it was turned on in January 2006 at a moment of high political tension. The ticker streamed news, political statements, and messages blaming Cuba's problems on the country's communist system and socialist economy. Throughout most of July the five-foot-high news streamer, which ran across 25 windows on the fifth floor of the U.S. Interests Section, has been turned off. Western diplomats in Havana said there were no plans for its crimson letters to be switched on again anytime soon. The turn-off comes amid moves by the Obama administration to ease nearly half a century of enmity between the United States and Cuba. "Like other Bush initiatives, [the ticker] caused lots of fanfare in Miami and very little impact in Cuba, and President Obama is right to bury it," said Phil Peters, a Cuba expert at the Washington-based Lexington Institute. The news ticker in Havana often sought to cast blame for everyday problems experienced by Cubans on the communist authorities. "Some go around in Mercedes, some in Ladas (a Russian car), but the system forces almost everyone to hitch rides," read one message, playing on a common complaint that there are few buses and that Cubans need government permission to buy a new car. In his angry reaction to the news streamer, Fidel Castro had accused the U.S. mission of becoming "the headquarters of the counterrevolution," which he said was in gross violation of diplomatic protocol. He ordered the parking lot in front of the building to be dug up and 100-foot-high flags installed to block the ticker from view. The Obama administration this year has also lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to the Caribbean island and sending remittances to family members. But Obama has made clear he will keep in place the 47-year-old trade embargo against Cuba until the Cuban leadership moves to improve political and human rights. "We're taking it step by step, seeing if, as we change some of the old approaches that we've been taking, we are seeing some movement on the Cuban government side," Obama told reporters last Friday in Washington when asked about Cuba. Source: An article by Marc Frank for Reuters

cuba cuban americans fidel castro obama administration havana ticker us interests section phil peters lexington institute
Bishops promote reconciliation between U.S. and Cuba

23 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the shorter version of Sunday's second reading we are counseled to "live in love, as Christ loved us." Just in time for hurricane season, a delegation of U.S. Roman Catholic bishops with charitable giving on its agenda is visiting Cuba this week. The bishops were following up on hurricane recovery projects funded by the church last year, and they also called for Cuba and the U.S. to improve ties. Relations between the Cold War foes have thawed in recent months, with Cubans residing in the U.S. now more easily traveling and sending money to Cuba. However there are no signs yet that the U.S. trade embargo on the island in place since 1962 will be lifted. "There's about 50 years of lack of confidence on both sides. That's a lot of history to overcome, but for the good of people who are separated, and suffering because of that separation, we would hope that both sides listen to their better angels," said Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida at a press conference in Havana on Tuesday. "The important thing is not to lose the opportunity of increased closeness and understanding between our two governments. I believe that the church, here and there, should advocate for this," Wenski said in Spanish at the press conference. Wenski is part of the delegation of bishops that includes Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Oscar Cantu, auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, Texas. O'Malley, who said he had visited Cuba several times over the past 20 years, pointed out there has been a "notable improvement" of ties between Havana and the church since Pope John Paul II's visit in January 1998. "Now we see that the church has more space. We would like for it to widen more," he said. In April President Obama acknowledged that Washington's policies toward Cuba, including a decades-old embargo, had failed, but said that issues such as political prisoners, freedom of speech, and democracy in Cuba could not be brushed aside in any new approach toward the country. Source: Articles by Jeff Franks for Reuters and Agence France Presse

Pope John Paul II bishops barack obama cuba us bishops thomas wenski sean omalley oscar cantu
Cubans not all singing in harmony

27 Sep 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus takes a stand for inclusiveness when he says in this Sunday's gospel reading that "whoever is not against us is for us." Emotions ran high over a huge open air "Peace Without Borders" concert held in Havana, Cuba last Sunday. Cuban exiles in Miami claimed the concert endorsed the island's communist system, but prominent dissidents jailed in Cuba said it offered an opportunity for reconciliation. Concert organizers said the concert was about peace and tolerance, not politics, telling the audience that "the important thing is to swap hate for love." Cuba hosted the biggest open-air concert since the 1959 revolution, featuring some 15 top Latin American, Spanish, and Cuban performers. An estimated 1 million people, many wearing white for peace, attended the free event in Havana's Revolution Square. Colombian singer Juanes, who organized the concert, received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime. One Miami group protesting the concert crushed Juanes CDs using a small steamroller. "There has been a lot of blood spilled in Cuba and people executed by firing squad," said 77-year-old Hernán Gonzalez, who said he spent six years in a Cuban prison for his opposition to Fidel Castro in the 1960s. "He [Juanes] is singing over dead bodies." The location of the Havana concert was highly symbolic. The headquarters of the communist party is in Revolution Square along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara's head. The square was used over the years by Fidel Castro to give five-hour speeches and is also where Pope John Paul II celebrated a historic open-air Mass in 1998. U.S. President Barack Obama said he understood Juanes to be a "terrific musician," but he was cautious about the impact of the concert. "I certainly don't think it hurts U.S.-Cuban relations," he said, but, he added, "These kinds of cultural exchanges--I wouldn't overstate the degree that it helps." Source: An article by Michael Voss for BBC News

barack obama cuba fidel castro havana peace without borders concerts revolution square juanes
Cuban prisoners see ray of light

30 May 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Justified by faith, "we even boast of our afflictions," says the reading from the Letter to the Romans this Sunday. Cuba's political prisoners have reason for hope following talks between Catholic Church leaders and President Raul Castro, who agreed to move prisoners held in far-off jails to facilities closer to their hometowns and transfer sick prisoners to hospitals. Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba Dionisio Garcia, who heads the Cuban Bishops' Conference, held a four-and-a-half-hour meeting with Castro in Havana last week which they both described as positive. Further talks are expected. The meetings are the first time in memory the communist government has negotiated with a national and independent organization like the Cuban church. They also represent Raul Castro's most important political shift since he succeeded his ailing brother Fidel two years ago. While the local church has long decried the country's problems, "what is new is the government's readiness to publicly recognize the Cuban Catholic Church as a middleman for resolving key issues," Havana dissident Oscar Espinosa Chepe wrote in a column Monday. Retired CIA Cuba expert Brian Latell noted that the church-state talks come at a time when Castro faces a crushing economic crisis as well as a wave of international condemnations of his human rights record. They include the February 22 death of jailed dissident Orlando Zapata after a lengthy hunger strike and a crackdown on the Ladies in White protesters earlier this year. "This represents a reflection of how much pressure they [the government] are feeling for the human rights, and pressures from a whole array of domestic problems," Latell said. "They're hoping the cardinal can help to alleviate some of those pressures." The Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors easing U.S. sanctions on Cuba, issued a statement saying that the Castro-Ortega talks were "a real lesson for U.S. policy-makers. Talking to the Cubans, not using sanctions . . . is the most effective way to achieve progress." Oscar Peua, director of the Miami-based Cuban Commission for Human Rights, complained in a blog post that Raul Castro had "jumped over the heads of the dissidents" in order to negotiate with Ortega. "But since the key issue is the release of all political prisoners, we do not hold back in being grateful," Peua added, even though it does not "resolve the sad reality of misery and lack of freedom that Cubans suffer for more than half a century." Source: Articles by Juan O. Tamayo for the Miami Herald and Esteban Israel for Reuters

cuba ladies in white human rights political prisoners raul castro cuban commission for human rights
Cuban prisoners see ray of light

30 May 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Justified by faith, "we even boast of our afflictions," says the reading from the Letter to the Romans this Sunday. Cuba's political prisoners have reason for hope following talks between Catholic Church leaders and President Raul Castro, who agreed to move prisoners held in far-off jails to facilities closer to their hometowns and transfer sick prisoners to hospitals. Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba Dionisio Garcia, who heads the Cuban Bishops' Conference, held a four-and-a-half-hour meeting with Castro in Havana last week which they both described as positive. Further talks are expected. The meetings are the first time in memory the communist government has negotiated with a national and independent organization like the Cuban church. They also represent Raul Castro's most important political shift since he succeeded his ailing brother Fidel two years ago. While the local church has long decried the country's problems, "what is new is the government's readiness to publicly recognize the Cuban Catholic Church as a middleman for resolving key issues," Havana dissident Oscar Espinosa Chepe wrote in a column Monday. Retired CIA Cuba expert Brian Latell noted that the church-state talks come at a time when Castro faces a crushing economic crisis as well as a wave of international condemnations of his human rights record. They include the February 22 death of jailed dissident Orlando Zapata after a lengthy hunger strike and a crackdown on the Ladies in White protesters earlier this year. "This represents a reflection of how much pressure they [the government] are feeling for the human rights, and pressures from a whole array of domestic problems," Latell said. "They're hoping the cardinal can help to alleviate some of those pressures." The Washington-based Center for Democracy in the Americas, which favors easing U.S. sanctions on Cuba, issued a statement saying that the Castro-Ortega talks were "a real lesson for U.S. policy-makers. Talking to the Cubans, not using sanctions . . . is the most effective way to achieve progress." Oscar Peua, director of the Miami-based Cuban Commission for Human Rights, complained in a blog post that Raul Castro had "jumped over the heads of the dissidents" in order to negotiate with Ortega. "But since the key issue is the release of all political prisoners, we do not hold back in being grateful," Peua added, even though it does not "resolve the sad reality of misery and lack of freedom that Cubans suffer for more than half a century." Source: Articles by Juan O. Tamayo for the Miami Herald and Esteban Israel for Reuters

cuba ladies in white human rights political prisoners raul castro cuban commission for human rights
Recalling a crisis that nearly blew up

21 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s reading from Letter to the Hebrews points out that Jesus is sympathetic to human weaknesses because he has “similarly been tested in every way.” On the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis, newly released papers of Robert F. Kennedy reveal the true extent to which the crisis tested his brother, President John F. Kennedy, and how near the world may have been to a catastrophic nuclear war.Papers from Robert F. Kennedy’s personal files made public last week at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library reveal how close the president came to announcing what could have been the start of World War III. A draft speech penned in October, 1962 contained this language: “My fellow Americans, with a heavy heart, and in necessary fulfillment of my oath of office, I have ordered—and the United States Air Force has now carried out—military operations with conventional weapons only, to remove a major nuclear weapons build-up from the soil of Cuba.”Robert Kennedy had no doubt that his brother would have chosen an air strike against the missile sites, followed by an invasion, if need be. As he wrote in his notes while discussing this option, “If we go in, we go in hard.”Had the United States launched an airstrike and invaded Cuba, the Soviet commander on the scene would almost certainly have responded with about 100 tactical nuclear weapons under his control. The U.S. would have felt compelled to respond in kind, triggering an escalation to nuclear Armageddon, some analysts say.That was the moment when U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, by his own account, uttered the most memorable line of the missile crisis: “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.” But researcher Michael Dobbs called “the eyeball to eyeball” image a myth, pointing out that ships from the Soviet Union had already turned around and were at least 750 miles from the island when a U.S. naval blockade went into effect. The skillful give and take of negotiations, not brinksmanship, won the day during the crisis, he argued.Homily hint: The threat of nuclear war has not disappeared in the past 50 years, even if the bomb shelters and air-raid drills of the Cold-War era have. Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program remind us that praying for peace is always essential as is backing our prayers with concerted action for mutual disarmament and peaceful resolution of international disagreements. Preaching on peace is never outdated. Sources: Articles by Graham Allison for Christian Science Monitor and Michael Dobbs for the New York Times

nuclear weapons michael dobbs dean rusk soviet union cuban missile crisis robert f kennedy john f kennedy
U.S. calls on Vatican diplomatic skills

19 Jan 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The first reading this Sunday speaks of how the Lord will utilize Israel so that “salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is hoping the Vatican will be able to help save an imprisoned U.S. citizen from having to serve the remainder of his lengthy prison sentence by reaching out to the Cuban government on the U.S.’s behalf.On his way to Kuwait Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the first Catholic to hold the position in more than 30 years, stopped at the Vatican to hold discussions with Pope Francis' top diplomatic aide, Secretary of State Archbishop Pietro Parolin. While the conversation centered mostly on the Middle East, "We talked also about Cuba and the need for respect for freedom of religion and freedom of, and respect for, human rights," Kerry told reporters after the meeting."I raised the issue of Alan Gross and his captivity, and we hope very much that there might be able to be assistance with respect to that issue," he said. Gross, a U.S. government contractor, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2009 for allegedly installing internet networks for Cuban Jews in a U.S. program Cuba considers subversive.His arrest in late 2009 and sentencing in March 2011 stalled a brief period of detente in U.S.-Cuba relations after President Barack Obama took office and quickly loosened restrictions on travel and remittances to the island for Cuban Americans with relatives in Communist-run country.The Vatican has had a relatively good diplomatic relationship with Cuba as church-state relations have thawed there in recent decades. Retired Pope Benedict XVI and the late Pope John Paul II both made major visits there.Homily hint: The Vatican diplomatic corps works around the world not only to represent and protect the interests of Catholics and enhance relations between the Vatican City and other sovereign states but also to offer assistance in diplomacy between other countries. Educating yourself about the international relations and church's role makes you a more effective Christian and citizen. Source: An article by Warren Strobel for Reuters

vatican cuba diplomacy john kerry alan gross pietro parolin

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