Cuban Cardinal Says Too Little Too Late
Andres Oppenheimer
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After many years of shameful passivity,
Earlier this week, the head of
Ortega, 73, said that
In the interview, the cardinal addressed the international turmoil around the recent death of
Ortega repeated earlier calls by
According to the cardinal, the role of
"The tragic death of a prisoner because of a hunger strike has triggered a verbal war from U.S., Spanish and other media," the cardinal stated. "This strong media campaign contributes to exacerbating the crisis even more. It's a form of media violence, to which the Cuban government responds in its own way."
Media violence? I asked myself when I read those lines. Is he blaming the international media for reporting the death of a hunger striker who was rotting in prison for voicing his opinions? Is he accusing the world media of reporting the plight of Fariñas, who stopped eating to demand that the Cuban regime release the 26 of more than 200 prisoners of conscience who require urgent medical care?
Is the cardinal blaming international media for noting that
Intrigued, I called Fariñas to ask him about his reaction to Ortega's statements. Fariñas was obviously glad that the cardinal had gone a little bit farther than usual in his statements, but wasn't exactly elated.
The cardinal's statements "were timid," Fariñas told me. "He himself was a political prisoner once, and he knows how political prisoners are being mistreated, how they are being beaten by the same people who are in power today."
Why do you think Ortega is so timid? I asked. "Because the Church hierarchy does not want to lose the handful of benefits that it has gotten from the government, such as permission to do seminars, some spaces on the radio and occasional appearances on television. I'm talking about the Church hierarchy because we can't say the same of the priests in the countryside."
Fariñas concluded that "the Church should put out a stronger statement about what's going on in
My opinion: Judging from the format and content of the cardinal's remarks -- a seemingly informal interview with the
From my own interviews with Cuban bishops and priests in the past, I know for a fact that many of them regard Ortega as too soft on
They -- and Fariñas -- are definitely right.
Ortega will go down in history as a Church leader who shied away from that basic mission. His statements are welcome, but he's no hero in my book.
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