Monday, March 21, 2011

Priest urges Cubans to have hope

Priest urges Cubans to have hope

HAVANA, Cuba, March 18, 2011--Fr. Jose Conrado Rodriguez Alegre, pastor
of the Church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Santiago, Cuba,
stated in a March 14 interview that the problems in the country must be
resolved peacefully.

The priest added that he has two parishes: One in Cuba, "and another
large one, which is the community in exile."

"I feel that God wants me to stay by the side of people, and my place is
here in Cuba," the priest told CafeFuerte.com, a website operated out of
Miami. However, he also acknowledged that he is committed to the Cubans
in exile in the United States, where he spends his vacation time.

"I think one of the things the Church will have to do now is build
bridges and help those in exile feel they are part of the Church." In
addition, he continued, these these "bonds" must be "profoundly renewed,
especially between Cuban Catholics in exile and the Catholic Church."

Fr. Rodriguez Alegre said he plans to remain in Cuba to care for his
85-year-old mother, "who stayed in Cuba for me." He added that there are
"thousands of ecclesiastic, patriotic and ethical reasons that obligate
me to stay by the side of my people when my people are suffering.

"I am not going to abandon them. The shepherd does not abandon his
sheep," he said.

He encouraged a peaceful solution to the country's problems saying, "I
don't think anyone with common sense, anyone who is remotely cordial,
could want a violent outcome for Cuba. In every way it would be a
failure of the spirit and of the heart of the nation."

"But at the same time," the priest continued, "there are many ways to
kill and to die, to unrestrictedly prolong a situation that results in
the death of the human spirit, the death of values in the human being.
This also is a terrible war."

"I am a man who believes in God and I know God never puts his children
in a situation without a solution. There is a solution, but we must use
every means we have to find it," he said.

Fr. Rodrigez Alegre said the family members of political prisoners, play
an important role in their release. He noted that the death of political
prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo and the hunger strike by Guillermo
Farinas had an enormous impact worldwide.

"The situation became such that the government was really in a corner
and the solution was to begin these negotiations which were sparked by
Cardinal Jaime Ortega's letter to Raul Castro telling him, 'We need to
resolve this. This is a very serious problem and we need to find a
solution'."

Although he doesn't think the deportation of political prisoners is the
best solution, Fr. Rodriguez Alegre underscored the inhumane conditions
of Cuban prisons and the "true Calvary" that their family members had to
endure.

"In Cuba we need to close the prisoner factory," he said.

He went on to report that his parishioners primary concerns are dealing
with hunger and despair. Since young people can't see any solution, they
decide to leave Cuba, and thus the country is becoming "an island of old
people." The birth rate is low and Cuba needs young people and children,
he stressed.

The government needs to seriously realize that there are other ways of
governing, there are other ways of exercising power that are much better
for leaders and that are beneficial to everyone, Fr. Rodriguez Alegre
stated. (CNA)

http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/15021

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