14ymedio, Frank Calzón, Miami, September 23, 2023 — President Miguel Díaz-Canel, after giving a speech before the United Nations General Assembly this week, will be at a celebration event this Saturday from five to six in the afternoon at the Church of the Transfiguration, located at 25 Mott Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York.
The theme of the event is the life of the Cuban patriot and priest Félix Varela.
The event, approved by Cardinal Timothy Dolan himself, is by invitation only and will be covered by the National Catholic Register, a major religious publication.
When the news leaked, Cuban exiles protested to the US authorities, pointing out the serious limitations on religious freedom perpetrated by the Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party. This office is in charge of supervising everything that has to do with the operations of the Church, from permits for processions to the purchase of materials to repair buildings, and passports for priests who wish to travel abroad.
Other Cuban exiles addressed Cardinal Dolan asking him to pray for the Cuban people, for peace and justice on the Island
Last year Cuban Cardinal Juan García tried to visit some dissidents in Central Havana but was intercepted by the police. Las Damas de Blanco [Ladies in White] who attempted to attend Sunday mass in the Cuban capital have frequently been beaten and detained.
In the midst of the 2021 protests, President Díaz-Canel declared that dissidents would have to “walk over our corpses,” and gave the order on television for Communist Party mobs to take to the streets to beat peaceful protesters.
Some twenty priests distributed a video in which, one after another, after identifying themselves and giving the name of their parish, they repeated a message: “Cuban, do not raise your hand against your brother.”
In addition, other Cuban exiles addressed Cardinal Dolan asking him to pray for the Cuban people, for peace and justice on the Island. In the letter that was released in New York a few hours ago they also asked him to ask Díaz- Canel to stop the harassment of priests, to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter Cuban prisons and the release of all political prisoners on the Island.
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