Bishops of Cuba call not to fear hope throughout the country

On the occasion of the Jubilee Year, the bishops of Cuba have published a message in which they denounce the serious reality suffered by the island and that “invades the soul” of its inhabitants, causing “the horizon of hope” to blur and that sadness takes over the hearts of all.

“With hopelessness and without joy there is no future for any people,” the bishops wrote this June 15. Although they emphasize that “resurrected Jesus Christ is the source and goal of true hope,” they point out that “it is also desirable, legitimate, worthy of man, that every human being can live and work in peace, realize their personal and family dreams, to progress more and more.”

In that sense, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (COCC) recalled that when people have this possibility “it is easier to motivate the search and effort of the common good”, which unfortunately today in the country “seems increasingly distant”, especially those most vulnerable as poor, elders, homeless people, hungry children”.

All of them “lacking love and emptying of hope,” laments the Cocc.

This daily life, which forces “the eager search for primary goods”, helps increase emigration rates, which fragments Cuban families, and encourages “disenchantment and apathy” of those who remain in the country, “overwhelmed by the repetition of promises that never materialize.”

How to revitalize the hope of so many Cubans?

Cuban bishops are made this “serious and inevitable” asks in the midst of the historical moment that the island crosses. They assure that to answer it, “the contest and responsibility of all the children of this land, without exclusions or preconceived or ideological responses” is needed.

The COCC ensures that this question has been the central axis of its repeated messages in recent decades, “with the only desire to serve the common good of the homeland.” It also recognizes the work of many Cubans who “with self -denial and sacrifice” fight “for a better future for the country”, expressed their gratitude to God already these people “for the testimony they offer daily.”

“In all places of the national geography, for the attentive and respectful ears of the suffering of others, things are heard are not well, that we cannot continue like this, that something must be done to save Cuba and return to hope,” the bishops write.

“This claim is an invitation to all, but fundamentally to those who have higher responsibilities when making decisions for the good of the nation. It is time to create a climate, without internal and external pressure or conditioning, where the structural, social, economic and political changes that Cuba needs,” they add.

The Episcopate recalled that since April 2024 they have invited all Catholics to “intensify prayer for Cuba, their present and their future.” In addition, in communion with Pope Leo XIV, they always claim to opt for dialogue as a mechanism to solve national reality, accompanied by respect for human dignity and “for the confidence in the enormous possibilities of the Cuban people.”

“With the strength of love that we profess for God and for Cuba, we want to give a word of encouragement: Let’s not be afraid to undertake new paths!”Said the Cocc.

“Risen Christ and his mother and mother, the Blessed Virgin of charity of copper, accompany us today and always. That they move our minds and our wills, so that, leaving aside resistance, distrust and fears, we are able to open for this people of ours, the luminous and beautiful door of hope,” they concluded.