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Orthodox Church leader calls US embargo
of Cuba a "historical mistake"
HAVANA, 25 (AFP) - The leader of the Orthodox
Church branded the US embargo of Cuba a
"historic mistake" in a sermon
Sunday during the full pomp inauguration
of a new cathedral in Havana with President
Fidel Castro in attendance.
Bartholomew I, the Orthodox ecumenical
patriarch of Constantinople, made the statement
during a sermon that formed part of the
five-hour ceremony to consecrate the tiny
San Nicolas Cathedral in the Cuban capital.
"The blockading of peoples and countries
by society in general from other nations
on earth is a historic mistake," said
the patriarch, who is spiritual leader of
the 300 million strong orthodox community
worldwide.
"And the problems between nations
and countries, like those between people,
are resolved through dialogue," he
added.
The ceremony began at 9:10 am (1410 GMT)
Sunday in the former basilica of San Francisco,
now home to Cuba's only Orthodox cathedral.
After an hour of hymns, the patriarch put
on new robes and led a procession some 120
meters (395 feet) through the San Francisco
Square and into the cathedral, which seats
50 people.
Castro, who had donned a formal gray suit
for the occasion, met Bartholomew I in the
cathedral entrance. The patriarch gave the
Cuban leader his hand, exchanging a few
words with Castro.
Also in attendance was Cuban National Assembly
Speaker Felipe Perez Roque, and the historian
of Havana, Eusebio Leal, who is considered
the fomentor of the visit.
Immediately afterwards, the patriarch continued
with the ceremony, proceeding in procession
three times around the cathedral as part
of a purification ritual.
Leal, in the name of the Cuban government,
thanked the patriarch for his act consecrating
the cathedral which in Cuba setting up the
Orthodox sanctuary represented "a symbol
of friendship and devotion ... to you and
to the (Orthodox) church".
During his sermon, while still outside
the cathedral, the patriarch qualified sanctions
against Cuba as a "historic mistake".
He said the Orthodox Church had come to
the island "to speak frankly"
of that error. The patriarch added that
the solution to such differences came only
"through communication, such as through
faithful mediation."
The United States has enforced an economic
embargo against Cuba since 1961.
The patriarch also underlined the need
for free public worship in Cuba.
"We hope to see in the future new
temples given over to public worship. The
free expression of religion faith constitutes
a basic human right," he said.
Bartholomew I's speech came exactly six
years after a visit to the communist island
by Pope John Paul II, head of the Roman
Catholic church.
On January 25, 1998, the pope called on
the world to open up to Cuba, and for Cuba
to open up to the world.
After the sermon, Castro handed over the
keys of the cathedral to the patriarch,
who awarded the Cuban leader with a St Andrew's
cross, symbolizing "justice and strength".
National Council of Churches to send
delegation to Cuba
NEW YORK, 27 (AFP) - A delegation of the
US National Council of Churches left for
Cuba on a six-day visit.
The trip includes consultations with Cuban
churches, celebration of the consecration
of a Greek Orthodox cathedral in Havana,
and possibly a meeting with President Fidel
Castro on political dissidents, the council
said.
The NCC, in the requested meeting with
Castro, which was not yet confirmed, said
it was "hoping to discuss church concerns
and issues pertaining to US-Cuban relations,
including the harsh sentences imposed on
75 dissidents by Cuba's courts in spring
2003.
"From a moral standpoint, this issue
is of crucial interest to the National Council
of Churches," it said in a statement.
"We find the sentences excessive."
It said this would be the NCC's third appeal
to the Cuban government on the arrest, trial
and sentencing of the dissidents to prison
terms of from six to 28 years, sentences
the US government has vocally condemned.
Orthodox patriarch dines with Castro
HAVANA, 24 (AFP) - Bartholomew I, the
visiting Orthodox ecumenical patriarch of
Constantinople and spiritual leader of the
300 million strong orthodox community worldwide,
met with Cuban President Fidel Castro but
snubbed a US reception that included Cuban
dissidents.
Bartholomew I, Castro, and 23 others dined
late Friday at Havana's posh landmark Hotel
Nacional, said Benjamin Leavenworth, spokesman
for the Orthodox patriarch.
"It was an extremely successful dinner,"
he told AFP, without elaborating.
On Saturday, Oswaldo Paya, leader of the
banned dissident Christian Freedom Movement,
issued a statement saying that those "wanting
to be respectful and supportive of the Cuban
people" should support "peaceful
democratic change, referendum and dialogue,
liberation of political prisoners, raise
their voice and pray for our silent people,
and not lose hope."
The statement was handed to Orthodox Archbishop
Dimitrios of New York -- who traveled to
Cuba for Bartholomew's visit -- at a reception
at the residence of the US representative
in Havana, James Cason.
Cason's event was attended by several dissidents,
spouses of jailed dissidents, foreign diplomats
and a delegation of Greek Americans.
Bartholomew I and his entourage, invited
and expected to attend the reception, did
not show up.
A US diplomat said the Orthodox patriarch
excused himself "at the last minute,"
adding that his absence represented "a
lost opportunity," although he declined
to speculate on the reasons.
Bob Edgar, secretary general of the National
Council of Churches of Christ in the United
States, told reporters after he met with
the Orthodox patriarch on Friday that he
hoped to meet with Castro himself to voice
concern about the fate of 75 dissidents
rounded up in April in the biggest government
crackdown in years.
The dissidents were sentenced to lengthy
prison terms and the crackdown sparked an
international outcry.
Edgar said he did not want to tell the
communist Cuban government what to do, but
that he hoped compassion would be shown
the dissidents whether with releases or
reduced sentences.
On Friday, the patriarch of Constantinople
consecrated the Saint Nicholas Cathedral
in Havana, built especially by the Cuban
government "as an offering from the
Cuban people" to the Orthodox Church.
The Cuban Orthodox community has 2,000
to 3,000 members, mostly of Slavic, Russian
and Ukrainian origin.
Castro Consecrating Gov't-Built Church
By ANITA SNOW, Associated
Press Writer
HAVANA, 25 - Communist Cuba rolled out
the red carpet for the spiritual leader
of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians
who was visiting the island at the invitation
of President Fidel Castro to consecrate
a Byzantine cathedral.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, head
of the Greek Orthodox church and leader
of the world's 14 Orthodox patriarchs, was
to consecrate the St. Nicholas cathedral
Sunday morning in Old Havana.
It was unclear why President Fidel Castro
agreed to finance the church's construction,
but Cuban authorities have been trying to
demonstrate that the communist government
respects freedom of worship.
They took issue last month with the findings
of a U.S. State Department report that said
surveillance, infiltration and harassment
of religious groups is still common on the
island.
While Cuba became officially atheist in
the years after the 1959 revolution that
brought Castro to power, the government
removed references to atheism in the constitution
more than a decade ago and allowed religious
believers to join the Communist Party.
Before that, religious faithful struggled
under a system that discouraged worship,
but never prohibited it. Believers were
barred from important jobs and viewed with
suspicion by officials who oversaw most
aspects of life.
Castro, who personally invited Bartholomew
to Cuba to consecrate the new sanctuary,
was expected to attend the lengthy ceremony.
Castro is said to admire Bartholomew's opposition
to war and support of the environment.
Also invited to the ceremony were more
than 500 Greek-Americans, as well as Orthodox
church members from Greece, Turkey and other
nations.
The church was the brainchild of Metropolitan
Athenagoras, the Greek Orthodox archbishop
for Central America and the Caribbean, and
Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal.
Relations between churches and the Cuban
state reached their high point in January
1998, when Roman Catholic Pope John Paul
II made a historic visit here.
While he spoke out against the American
trade embargo, the pope also called for
a greater opening in society and the release
of hundreds of prisoners. The Cuban government
a month later released 299 prisoners at
the pope's request.
Invited here personally by Castro, Bartholomew
has steered away from politics during his
stay.
However, he did speak out Saturday against
the U.S. embargo, saying Cuba has "the
right to breathe freely both inside the
country and abroad, in its commercial relations,
in its cultural relations."
American officials here were disappointed
when he failed to show at a Saturday night
reception at the home of U.S. Interests
Section Chief James Cason, whose guests
also included a number of vocal Castro opponents.
They said they scheduled the reception
around his other activities, and that the
patriarch's delegation had indicated he
would attend.
Archbishop Demetrios, who represents Greek
Orthodox Christians in the United States,
said the patriarch was unable to attend
because of other commitments.
Cuba's best-known activist, Oswaldo Paya,
spoke with Demetrios at the American reception
and gave him a statement to be delivered
to the patriarch, asking for his blessing
and expressing the hopes of the island's
political opponents.
"We want peace, we want reconciliation,
we want and we can undertake our own Cuban
project of justice and democracy - but with
the liberty Our Lord God has given us,"
wrote Paya, a devout Roman Catholic. "We
did not come into this world to adore one
man and submit ourselves to a party.
"They say 'socialism or death,'"
he wrote, referring to a popular Communist
Party slogan. "But we say liberty and
life."
Paya is the top organizer of the Varela
Project, a signature gathering drive that
seeks deep changes in the island's socialist
system. The Cuban government has rejected
the Varela Project proposals, saying they
are unconstitutional.
The new cathedral will be used by the island's
estimated 2,000 Orthodox Christians. Church
members include diplomats and foreign businesspeople
from countries such as Greece and Turkey,
and people who immigrated here during the
Soviet era.
Orthodox Christian Leader Visits Cuba
By ANITA SNOW, Associated
Press Writer
HAVANA, 22 - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I, spiritual leader of the world's 300 million
Orthodox Christians, met with Cuban President
Fidel Castro during his mission to consecrate
a new cathedral built by the island's communist
government.
Bartholomew, dressed in his traditional
black robes and veiled cap and carrying
his patriarchal staff, was greeted with
Greek hymns and bouquets of roses Wednesday
night as he became the first Christian Orthodox
patriarch to visit Latin America.
Castro, wearing an olive green uniform,
greeted the bearded patriarch at the bottom
of the plane's steps after the long flight
from Istanbul, Turkey. The two men walked
down a red carpet, greeting diplomats, Cuban
officials, local Orthodox Christian leaders
and representatives of Cuba's Roman Catholic
and Protestant churches.
The patriarch and the president also greeted
a small group of children dressed in white,
who gave them bouquets of roses. A choir
sang sacred songs in liturgical Greek.
After posing briefly for news photographers
and television cameramen, the pair entered
a black Mercedes Benz sedan for the trip
to the Palace of the Revolution, where Castro
staged a formal welcoming ceremony.
On Thursday, the visit continued with Bartholomew
inaugurating an exhibit of photographs in
the morning and giving a talk on the environment
in the afternoon. He is known as the "Green
Patriarch" for his strong interest
in ecology.
The patriarch was scheduled to attend a
concert of Greek music Thursday evening.
On Sunday, the patriarch will consecrate
the new St. Nicholas cathedral, which Castro's
government built as a gift to Orthodox Christians.
Greek Orthodox officials said it was the
first new church of any faith to be built
on the Caribbean island during Castro's
45-year rule.
"It is with much respect that we receive
the patriarch, whose visit constitutes a
gesture of friendship toward Cuba,"
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said.
Perez Roque said the visit would show
the world "that in Cuba there is freedom
to express religion, a faith, and there
is a commitment by the government to support
that right."
Cuban officials take issue with a U.S.
State Department report issued last month
that said surveillance, infiltration and
harassment of religious groups is common
on the island.
While Cuba became officially atheist in
the years after the 1959 revolution that
brought Castro to power, the government
removed references to atheism in the constitution
more than a decade ago and allowed religious
believers to join the Communist Party.
Before that, religious believers struggled
under a system that discouraged - but never
outright prohibited - religious worship.
Believers were barred from important jobs
and viewed with suspicion by officials who
oversaw most aspects of life.
Relations between the Roman Catholic Church
and the government warmed in early 1998
with the visit by Pope John Paul (news -
web sites) II. But Cuba's Catholic leaders
continue pushing for the right to open parochial
schools for children and access to state-controlled
media.
Bartholomew is the patriarch of Greek Orthodox
Christians and considered "first among
equals" of 14 patriarchs representing
Orthodox Christian congregations in eastern
Europe and the Middle East, including Russia,
Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Syria and Iraq.
The Orthodox faith is little known in Cuba,
as well as the rest of Latin America, where
Roman Catholicism has long been the dominant
church.
Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism
split nearly a millennium ago over questions
of theology and papal authority.
Featuring traditional Orthodox mosaics
and icons of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary
and numerous saints, the new sanctuary of
cream-colored stone with red brick trim
was built alongside the Roman Catholic San
Francisco Basilica in Old Havana.
It will be used by the island's estimated
2,000 Orthodox Christians, who include diplomats
and foreign business people from countries
such as Greece and Turkey, and people who
immigrated here before the fall of communism
in former Soviet states and Eastern European
countries including Russia, Ukraine and
Bulgaria.
Neither the Cuban government nor church
officials have said how much it cost.
An estimated 500 Greek-Americans are expected
in Cuba for the consecration, along with
scores more Orthodox faithful from around
the region, said Metropolitan Athenagoras,
the Greek Orthodox archbishop for Central
America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central
America, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela.
The patriarch's visit coincides with a
trip here by the National Council of Churches
U.S.A., which represents many mainline American
Christian groups.
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