Pope Benedict XVI left Rome and will soon make his way to Cuba to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Cuba’s patron saint.
But Benedict XVI, who has said “communism does not work” and “Marxist reality no longer corresponds to reality,” is leaving many to wonder what he will say when he gets to the island nation.
Well-known Cuban exile and devote Catholic, Sylvia Iriondo, will hang on every word from a distance. She will not travel on the Miami Archdiocese pilgrimage.
“I can’t be there as a foreigner in my own country without being able to speak out, without be able to go where ever,” Iriondo said. “I want to go to meet with whomever I want to meet.”
The Castro brothers’ government will lay out a big welcome for the pope, but their government has detained dissidents, increased repression and has told relatives of the dissidents not to march.
Earlier this month 13 church occupiers were also removed by state security.
Iriondo recalls the words of Pope John Paul.
“John Paul at that time said to the Cuban people, ‘Do not be afraid.’ The 13 that went into Our Lady of Charity Church in Havana were not afraid. And what happened? Cardinal Ortega called the political police to have them removed from that church. I do not think that was right,” Iriondo said.
Iriondo believes the church has served Cubans well, but that the leadership has been too friendly with the Castros, leaving more space for the church and not for the Cuban people.
“The Catholic hierarchy in the island has been too lenient with the dictatorship, has sided with the oppressors in many case rather than the victims,” Iriondo said.
