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Cuba Needs Church to Combat
Abortion, Says Castro
Zenit
- The world seen from Rome, October 17,
2005.
HAVANA, OCT. 16, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Fidel
Castro wants help from the Church to fight
the "plague of abortion" in his
country, reported an Italian cardinal at
the end of a visit with the Cuban president.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of
Genoa, spoke of his trip in an interview
with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, published
Thursday.
"Fidel Castro is asking us for help
to combat the plague of abortion in Cuba,"
he said.
"The spread of abortion, as Fidel
Castro emphasized, is among the causes of
the country's demographic crisis,"
the cardinal added. "And it is also
a consequence of the plague of sexual tourism.
"It is natural that Castro is concerned,
and that I am embarrassed by the behavior
of some Italians abroad."
"The Church can make its contribution
in the area of abortion and low birthrates
in a country where openness is total,"
Cardinal Bertone said.
Although the cardinal spoke about topics
such as tourism, Castro wanted to speak
about the Church, about the conclave and
about "a possible visit of the Pope
to Cuba."
The cardinal traveled to Cuba Oct. 3-6
to accompany two Fidei Donum priests --
clergy sent from one country to another
where there is a shortage -- who will work
in two parishes of the Diocese of Santa
Clara, reported the Italian newspaper.
The cardinal had made an earlier visit
to Cuba in September 2002, during which
he crowned the Pilgrim Virgin and placed
in her hands a gold rosary sent by Pope
John Paul II.
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