From our Bureau of Troublesome Priests
Father Lester Rafael Zayas has dared to speak his mind in a BBC interview. Naturally, much like Father Alberto Reyes of Camaguey, Father Zayas has been placed on Castro, Inc.’s list of enemies. “They consider my homilies dangerous,” says Father Zayas. Showing no fear of reprisals, Father Zayas has also said that “Cuba is dying” and he cannot keep silent about the suffering that Castro, Inc. has caused the Cuban people: “What I say in my homilies is that it is not possible to see the reality here and accept the suffering of the people as normal.” If you are a praying person, please pray for Father Zayas. Castro, Inc. is bound to pounce on any such troublesome priest.
Loosely translated from Diario de Cuba
Cuban priest Lester Rafael Zayas stated that the country is dying in a telephone interview with the British television channel BBC, where he talked about the beginning of his clashes with the authorities and the pressures he faces to stop criticizing the situation on the island.
At the end of March, the Cuban regime allowed 111 Holy Week processions and banned at least two: the one from the diocese of Bayamo-Manzanillo and the one from the Parish of the Sacred Heart, located in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, where friar Lester Rafael Zayas is the parish priest.
In the case of his church, the denial of permission was directly related to him, according to a statement from the parish in March.
“According to the information given to me by my superiors, the permission was denied exclusively because of me, because apparently in my homilies I offend or bother certain people, or they consider my homilies dangerous,” said the priest to the British channel, labeling the veto as “absurd,” “because processions are not the desire of the parish priest.
“A procession personally means little to me, but it is something that the people request,” he said. In March, in the parish’s statement, the Cuban priest pointed out that the prohibition was a violation of religious freedom.
It is likely that the parish would have received permission from the authorities to hold the procession if friar Lester Rafael Zayas refrained from criticizing the situation in Cuba, but he considers it impossible to remain silent.
“I could always talk about heaven and forget earthly things, but the Gospel and Jesus Christ lead us directly to Earth, to engage with people,” said the parish priest to the BBC.
“It’s impossible to be a priest in Cuba without talking about what is happening here, but of course, this brings many conflicts,” Father Zayas said.
At the end of March, after the prohibition of the procession by the Cuban authorities, the priest told Reuters that it was “impossible to talk about Jesus Christ without talking about the children who go to school today without breakfast.”
“What I say in my homilies is that it is not possible to see the reality here and accept the suffering of the people as normal,” he told the British television channel.
“Cuba is dying,” the priest declared, recalling that his mission as a priest is to listen to his parishioners and respond to the “cries of the people.”
“They tell me that they don’t have enough to eat; that their children go to school with barely any breakfast because there’s no bread; that many elderly people are left alone and live in despair due to the migration crisis; that people have no future and everyone is waiting for a visa to leave the country; that the sick don’t have medication, even though, according to official discourse, we are a medical powerhouse; that there are more and more men and women living on the streets,” he listed.
The priest added, “Responding to these cries of the people means seeking problems, difficulties, because you know that when you raise your voice in favor of the people, you’ll face an insurmountable wall there that will try to silence you by various means.”
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