From Tidings Online:
L.A. priest leads restoration effort for parish in Cuba
By Ellie Hidalgo
Angelenos have been helping to restore Catholic churches and a hospital in Cuba — the communist island nation which for several decades persecuted Catholics but now allows limited religious freedoms.
The restoration efforts are not without controversy. Some members of the Los Angeles Cuban community worry that funds raised could be used by the dictatorship government of Fidel Castro to prop up its shaky hold on power. Others warn that with churches in disrepair, another generation of Cuban youth will not be evangelized in a Catholic faith that could sustain their hope for a better future.
No new churches have been built in Cuba since the communist revolution of January 1, 1959, said Cuban-born Father Marcos Gonzalez, associate pastor of Holy Family Church in Glendale. For several decades Cubans risked losing their jobs if they attended church services. But prior to the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in 1998, the government relaxed its harassment of practicing Catholics.
You can read the whole thing here.
There is no greater need than rebuilding the churches there. With the exception of changing the government. I will be there next month working on churches. I can tell you that the church is giving hope to many Cubans. It is the work of the church that is caring for hundreds of thousands of Cubans who have been abandoned by the bearded one. It is the churches, thourgh underground home groups, that continue to preach and teach about the hope everyone has outside of fidels hold.
fidel continues to place strong holds on churches throughout the Island. However, his stronghold has only strengthened the church and an explosion of growth has occured.
I have seen the faces of those who have bought the lie that there is nothing better than fidel’s Cuba for them. I have met them in the markets of Matanzas and on the roads outside Pedro Betancourt. I have also seen the smiles and rays of light shining from those who have a hope in something larger than fidel.
sorry for the length of this post. it touched a personal chord.