This persecution is a result of the positioning of numerous leaders in the pro-democracy movement.
Newsroom (January 27, 2022, 8:30 AM, Gaudium Press) The news website Breitbart reports on the growth of persecution against Christians in Cuba, fundamentally due to the significant and renewed presence of Christians in the pro-democracy movement. One of the main sources supporting this reality is the renowned international Christian organization Open Doors, whose director, David Curry, granted an interview to Breitbart.
The recent report released by Open Doors on religious persecution shows that in Cuba, after the two national days for freedom and democracy held last year, on July 11 and November 15, the persecution against Christians turned into a tsunami.
“Christians, for some years, had a certain degree of freedom there and they came out of our top 50 [of the ranking of countries where Christianity is persecuted], but now they are back,” Curry noted.
“What you see is that there is an alignment among pastors and priests around individual freedoms and things that challenge the ideology of the communist regime in Cuba,” Curry continued. The regime “would like to see them stand aside from these discussions and let the government do whatever it wants. I think all these dictators have a similar belief in that regard.”
“So they are starting to say ‘Look, if you are going to speak out against the cruelties of the government, we are going to take strong measures against you and make it difficult for you to be officially registered,” “and those who are registered, of course, have to toe the line. So this is the game, a very dangerous game that is being played in Cuba against the pastors and priests of this region,” explained the director of Open Doors.
Highly risky personal stances
Breitbart points out that in the context of last year’s protests in the island, some priests have gained notable visibility, calling for the end of communism and respect for human rights, something they do “at great personal risk. In the demonstrations last November, “the clergy took to the streets after the arrests of dozens of people who participated in the July protests.”
After this characterized positioning of certain Christian leaders in the pro-democracy movement, the regime followed some strategies:
“The COVID-19 crisis was used as a pretext to hinder church and community activities, monitor church leaders, practice arbitrary arrests, confiscate private property, and impose extortion fees. Christian leaders of different denominations were among those arrested during anti-government demonstrations in July,” Open Doors reported in its World Watch List.
Compiled by Zephania Gangl
