Pope Francis in Cuba – Day 2: A call to service in the midst of a crackdown

By John Suarez in Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter:

Pope Francis in Cuba Day 2 the halfway point: A Call to Service in the Midst of a Crackdown

“Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people” – Pope Francis, Homily in Havana, September 20, 2015

The world has been opening to Cuba and Cuba would like to open to the world, but a dynastic totalitarian dictatorship is unwilling to do anything that would endanger the continuation of its 56 years in power. The image of the Maoist mass murderer Ernesto “Che” Guevara casts a shadow not only over the Plaza of the Revolution in Cuba but Latin America in general, and it is a legacy of bloodshed, terrorism and war in the pursuit of ideological ends. This includes resisting an authentic opening in Cuba where Cubans are the authors of their own destiny and imposing that model in Venezuela.

The regime’s resistance to change was on display yesterday when opposition activists that His Holiness wanted to meet with privately were arrested outside their homes while trying to reach the Apostolic Nunciature. Today scores of activists were rounded up to prevent them from attending the Holy Mass with Pope Francis at 10:30am. Nevertheless four opposition activists were caught on film, with one of them able to reach Pope Francis and receive a blessing before the three were taken away by state security agents. Univision managed to catch the whole affair on film and it is embedded below and is a visual testament to the totalitarian nature of the regime.

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