Cuban call for reform agenda to be published: CEN 4.17.08 April 17, 2008
Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Cuba, Persecution, Politics, Roman Catholic Church.add a comment
| The Roman Catholic Church in Cuba has issued a call to President Raul Castro to produce his promised reform agenda for the Caribbean island nation’s political system.
On Feb 19, El Lider Maximo of Cuba, Fidel Castro, announced his resignation as president after almost 50 years in power, turning over the reins of government to his 76-year old brother, Raul. Named acting president on Jul 31, 2006, when the Communist caudillo underwent intestinal surgery, Raul Castro has promised to liberalize Cuba’s one-party state and command economy, however Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports that the religious rights of Cuba’s political prisoners continue to be violated by the regime. Read it all in The Church of England Newspaper’s Religious Intelligence section. |
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Cuban Bishops Consecrated After Split: CEN 6.15.07 p 6. June 15, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Anglican Church of Canada, Church of England Newspaper, Cuba, The Episcopal Church.add a comment
Two bishops were consecrated in Havana this week, ending a factional and political deadlock that has divided Cuba’s church since 2003.
Canadian Archbishop Andrew Hutchison and American Presiding Bishop consecrated the Rev. Nerva Cot suffragan bishop of Western Cuba and the Rev. Ulises Aguero suffragan bishop of Eastern Cuba on June 10 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana.
Bishop Cot becomes the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion outside the US, Canada and New Zealand.
The two suffragans were appointed by Archbishop Hutchison and Bishop Schori at a meeting of the Cuban synod on Feb 4 in Cardenas. The two primates interviewed seven candidates for the post, choosing two. Their choice was ratified by the acting Bishop of Cuba, the Rt. Rev. Miguel Tamayo, Bishop of Uruguay.
Following the retirement of Bishop Jorge Perera in January 2003, Cuba’s diocesan synod was unable to elect a new bishop. Bishop Tamayo, a Cuban native, was asked to oversee the diocese for three years, while attempts were made to reconcile the divided church.
In April 2003 the Cuban synod rejected a proposal to reunite with the American Church. A diocese of the Episcopal Church until political difficulties forced its withdrawal in 1967, the vote to rejoin failed on a vote by orders with 8 clergy in favor, and 11 opposed, while 31 lay delegates voted in favor and 17 were opposed.
In an interview with Reuters following her consecration, Bishop Cot voiced her support for the gay agenda within the Anglican Communion, saying she hoped her appointment would encourage other Latin American Churches to liberalize.
Archbishop Hutchison told reporters he hoped the appointments would strengthen the church in Latin America. “There is a vitality and a deep enthusiasm in Cuba that is an important gift to a church that has too often been very conservative,” he said.
The church in Cuba is governed by a Metropolitan Council comprised of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Primate of the Church of the Province of the West Indies. Bishop Tamayo was reappointed to a second three year term as acting bishop in February.
