• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 05 / 04 / 2011

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Catholic News Service. If Cuba is going to undergo the kind of political transition that leads to an end of the 50-year-old U.S. embargo, the work toward reconciliation and forgiveness that the Catholic Church is trying to facilitate is an essential step in the right direction, says the archbishop of Miami.

Since last summer, Cuba’s Catholic bishops have had a highly visible role in some of the developments that have prompted speculation about positive changes coming.

The bishops in Cuba held a historical dialogue and began working with the government to dial back tensions and negotiate the release of the last 52 of 75 prisoners. The prisoners were released a few at a time, and most were flown to Spain. About a dozen refused to leave Cuba and ultimately were allowed to stay there upon release. The final two were let out of prison last month.

The White House in January announced presidential directives loosening restrictions on travel to Cuba, opening the door to more travel for religious, cultural, educational and journalistic purposes. Restrictions also were eased on cash remittances to Cuba, allowing all Americans to send money to support private economic activities or religious institutions. Previously only Cuban-Americans were allowed to send limited amounts of money directly to their families.

Source: www.catholicsentinel.org/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=34&ArticleID=...