February 23, 2008
Que Los Cojan Confesados
Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State for the Vatican, is in Cuba on an official visit.
Yesterday, he celebrated mass, The Holy Sacrifice, at Havana’s Cathedral, offering the sacrament of Communion, or was it last rites?, to the atheist Cuban Nomenklatura.
According to Leonard Doyle, writing for the UK’s “The Independent” , the elite of Cuba’s decadent ruling class:
“Dressed in expensive Italian suits, a few with glamorous young partners on their arms, (they) took their places ahead of rows of nuns, priests and diplomats who sat in plastic chairs in a cordoned-off section of the square.”
The problem was, that the party, I mean Mass, like fidel’s rallies, was by invitation only. And, there were some party crashers, the “Ladies in White”. Here are Doyle’s words. Needless to say, he didn’t get the memo:
The procession moved through the congregation touching off ripples of applause from the faithful. But it veered away at one point, turning back to the altar, rather than encounter a group known as the Damas de Blanco ("Ladies in White"), who are the only public face of resistance left in Cuba.They were not meant to be at this Mass, although they are devout Catholics for the most part, who walk to church every Sunday, dressed all in white, to bring attention to the terrible fate of husbands, sons and brothers languishing in Castro's jails for up to 20 years for voicing "anti-revolutionary" opinions.
The Ladies in White, a number of whom are in their eighties, were told initially that without invitations they could not attend. Then they were allowed in under protest, but had to stand at the back throughout the two-hour service, although there were empty seats near the altar.
TheVatican has never shied away from courting power, but the church's naked embrace of the anti-clerical power elite had an Animal Farm-like quality to it that left some in the congregation slack jawed. Some of Fidel Castro's oldest cronies made it to Mass. They included the president of the National Assembly Ricardo Alarcon, Cuba's hard-line foreign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, and Juan Contino Aslan, the mayor of Havana.
All might have passed peacefully if the Ladies in White had been treated with some dignity and seated among the congregation as they had been promised. Instead, mid-way through the service, while Cardinal Bertone made a vacuous plea for reconciliation among all Cubans he was rudely interrupted, as the Ladies in White burst spontaneously into a religious song, crying out "Viva el Christo! Viva el Christo! Viva el Christo!"
Burly, plainclothed security men rushed in their direction and the cameras of the media wheeled around to film the moment of protest. Even the cardinal was thrown off track and had to pause. However, so tin-eared is the Vatican's top diplomat that he gave not a flicker of recognition to the long-suffering women and the hundreds of political prisoners they represent in Castro's gulag.
As soon as Mass ended, Cardinal Bertone descended from the altar to offer the Catholic "sign of peace" and a warm embrace for each member of the Cuban high command. Then it was all over, the cardinal had given his blessing to the Communists while keeping the faithful at bay.
The sight of these Cuban Communist henchmen participating in a Mass is revolting. But, I have to confess that I get a little perverse pleasure out of the irony of hearing about this bunch of murdering thugs having to bow to the Almighty in a sobering preview of the judgment that’s ultimately coming their way, in a ceremony that could very well represent the last rites for the regime. At least raul had enough sense not to attend.
Read the article here it also has an interview with dissident Cuban economist, Oscar Espinoa Chepe and his Ladies in White wife, Miriam Leiva.
This is not an "objective" piece in the way that the AP and Reuters, et al define objectivity. It tells it like it is which requires the use on some cognitive process to discern what he truth is and describe it in living color and deadly accuracy.
Posted by Gusano at February 23, 2008 11:07 AM
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Comments
Great article, thanks for posting!
Posted by: Monica ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.babalublog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 23, 2008 11:56 AM
I am not Catholic nor was I raised Catholic. So I can only imagine what the Damas en Blanco and other devout Cuban Catholics felt at that mass when they saw their church--the one that they have risked their lives to follow and have suffered innumerable hardships for proudly proclaiming their allegiance to her--turn its back on them in favor of those who are not only their persecutors, but the church in Cuba also. I can only surmise that it must have been very similar to what Jesus and the apostles felt when Judas betrayed them for thirty pieces of silver.
The Vatican has had its low points throughout history, but this has to be one of the lowest ever. It is like a parent forsaking a sick and helpless child.
Right now I feel disgusted.
Posted by: albertodelacruz at February 23, 2008 12:27 PM
Looks like when Hitler was left alone by the Church with no complaints at all against him, shame on the Church I once stood by, Padre Camin~as that took us in Spain must be turning in his grave and Padre Conrado must be shaking his head in disbelief, those Vatican honchos after John Paul are just a bunch of cowards.
Posted by: Doorgunner at February 23, 2008 12:56 PM
I am a former Catholic and am disgusted at how the Catholic church had such an opportunity to stand for right and THREW IT AWAY. One thing is for certain. The Damas en Blanco nor any other group can count on any help from the Catholic church. As we will hold countries accountable who pandered to the communist regime once this is over so we will hold the Catholic church accountable. Keep in mind we can thank the Catholic church for castro even being alive. It was due to their appeal that Batista released him when he had him imprisoned.
Posted by: pototo at February 23, 2008 12:57 PM
The Vatican needs to dust off the words of their favorite son, addressing the lifestyle of the wicked and the false teachers, whether they're in church or not:
2 Peter 2: "Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is NOT asleep." (emphasis mine)
And the words of their second favorite son:
"And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened ... and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds." (Rev. 20:12)
Yep - the great in their Italian suits and fancy Vatican regalia, and the small in their white cottons. It's obvious to me these Vatican hunchos don't take any Scripture seriously.
Posted by: Gigi at February 23, 2008 12:59 PM
There is a famous picture taken at the end of World War II of a pretty French woman with her hair shaved off, she was being run out of town by a very large croud. She was a colaborator, she took on a Nazi lover, these things happen, I know, but there are consequences that inevitably must be owned. I wonder what will happen to the catholic church in Cuba after showing such a lack of cojones. The catholic church too must own their actions and face the consequences.
Posted by: kenko at February 23, 2008 02:05 PM
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