The bad example of Cardinal Jaime Ortega notwithstanding, do not count all Catholics in Cuba as accomplices of the Castro dictatorship.
Diario De Cuba -- with a translation from Pedazos de la Isla -- has the story of how some Catholics on Sunday stood up for their faith and what is right:
This Sunday, a priest, various nuns, and churchgoers impeded 7 Ladies in White from suffering a mob repudiation attack and possible aggressions in the Cobre Church of Santiago de Cuba, the independent journalist Caridad Caballero Batista informed ‘Diario de Cuba’.
The women were able to arrive to the sanctuary on Saturday, having to take different routes in order to surpass the police operations, and spend a night in a hostel.
“Thanks to the people working in the hostel and others who approached us, we found out that the political police knew of our presence there, but the priest of El Cobre sanctuary was concerned for us”, said Caballero Batista, one of the women who was able to assist mass.
The other women who made it were Belkis Cantillo Ramirez, Aimee Garces Leiva, Mari Blanca Avila Expósito, Oria Casanova Moreno, Adriana Núñez Pascual and Tania Bandera González, according to the former political prisoner from the group of the 75 Jose Daniel Ferrer.
Another 7 women also made it to the Cathedral of Santiago. At least two of them, Liudmila Rodríguez Palomo and Ana Celia Rodríguez Torres, were detained after the mass in order to impede them from carrying out a march.
“Those of us who were in El Cobre were victims of a mob repudiation attack on behalf of paramilitary troops who wanted to attack us” after leaving mass. “Churchgoers and nuns had to intercede and protect us from being beat”, recounted Caballero Batista. “The nuns went out and got us a car to drive us out of there”.
The independent journalist pointed out that after the Eucharist, the priest Jorge Palma “said that the Ladies in White were present in the church, that they were peaceful women who demanded freedom for prisoners and for all Cubans, and that on many occasions they have been beat”.
“Churchgoers approached us and nuns offered us their support”, Caballero Batista assured. “We felt very reassured. It was something we appreciate”.
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