Adapting the Language of Religion / Miriam Celaya

Raul Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega from the blog Baracutey Cubano

For example, the Cuban Church’s magazine Palabra Nueva (New Word) could be more combative and summon the faithful to the battle to receive Pope Benedict XVI. They should also call the more convinced militant Catholics to be in the front line of battle to defend the conquests of Cardinal Jaime Ortega, and to intercept, with total Revolutionary intransigence, the dissidents, mercenaries in the service of Lucifer who seek to disunite and confuse the true believers of the Cuban church by unjust social demands that compromise the pristine image of this kindly government.

A Catholic must consistently remain silent about the abuses to its neighbors and mercifully look the other way when government agents suppress other Cubans. To the provocations of the mercenary Pharisees they must keep on fighting in all the churches, especially if this occurs on the eve of the Pope’s visit.

The preaching could well make it clear that the churches are for Revolutionary Catholics and they must organize repudiation rallies* against those who seek to divert the true essence of the institution: to defend to the last drop of blood the Ortega-Castro unity, unique and authentic interpreter of the Divine Will. No ordinary Catholic will have the right to question the administrators of the cult, politics is no business of the Church… except for the Cardinal, who — and let this be very clear — it is not the same, although he is equal.

It could be that under these principles “of the barricade”, the Church will not be very convincing with regards to its spiritual mission, perhaps it will even lose followers again, as it did when the Communist Manifesto was imposed on the Bible. We must remember that in more recent years Revolutionary believers have been enthusiastically welcomed into the ranks of a Party that until recently was chasing and harassing them; and in a friendly gesture of love for his many Communist militant fellows who began to hang crucifixes around their necks, baptize their children and return to Mass, which demonstrates that the current partnerships have long-standing roots.
Speaking personally, I doubt the moral integrity of those who once abandoned what they now claim is their faith. But I stress the issue of renewing the Church’s official language. I think that at least this way the religious discourse would be more consistent. We shall see, later on, whether it would also be convenient to change the color of the robes. After all, olive-green is lovely color, and will harmoniously complement the eyes of our beloved Cardinal.

Final note: At the moment that I’m uploading this post, Monday March 26, 11:25 am, there are operatives around the houses of many opponents, dissidents and civil society activists in Cuba. Such is the case with Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo. Many cell phones have been cut off and fixed telephone lines interrupted. The pack is heading for the witches’ sabbath.

*Translator’s note: “Repudiation rallies” are mobs of people organized by the regime who attack verbally, and frequently physically, opponents, surrounding their homes or confronting them in the street.

March 26 2012