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Dissident
analyzes leading role of Church in transition
to democracy in Cuba
Dagoberto Valdes: the
Catholic Church is "the only institution
in Cuba where there are still footprints
of the civil society which otherwise has
been annihilated."
Catholic
News Agency.
Rome, Apr 3, 2007 / 11:17 am (CNA).- The
founder and director of the most influential
Catholic think-tank in Cuba, Dagoberto Valdes
Hernandez, said in an interview this week
that the Catholic Church is "the only
institution in Cuba where there are still
footprints of the civil society which otherwise
has been annihilated." The subject
of the Catholic leader's interview was the
issue of transition to democracy in Cuba
and the Catholic Church's role in that process.
Valdes, who founded the Center for Civic
and Religious Formation in the Diocese of
Pinar del Rio and the magazine "Vitral,"
said the situation in Cuba today is one
of "uncertainty and of expectation"
due to the lack of information about what
is happening in the country and because
the future "is in the hands of the
those in the highest echelons of power and
not in those of the sovereign citizenry."
"Anthropological harm" combined
with "totalitarian control" is
preventing Cubans from fully developing
their freedom and responsibility, he explained.
Valdes, who was appointed member of the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
after the visit of John Paul II, said, "The
Church has been the only institution present
throughout Cuba" that has maintained
"autonomy and independence from the
State during half a century."
This distinguishes the Church from the
rest of the elements of Cuban society, he
continued, "which were slowly dismantled
by authentic socialism."
Asked about the Church's current relationship
with the Cuban government, the renowned
dissident said the Church "has maintained
its own identity, its mission and its place
with the limitations that come with being
inserted in a State that seeks to control
everything and everyone."
Valdes said he is a witness of the existence
of "many priests, religious and laity
that have worked for decades as faithful
witnesses, even at the risk of their own
wellbeing and that of their families."
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