The priest Alberto Reyes Pías, parish priest of Esmeralda, Camagüey, and one of the most critical religious voices against the regime, published on Facebook the 176th installment of his weekly column "I've Been Thinking," titled "The Uncomfortable Neighbor," in which he outlines a historical and political overview of the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Cuban dictatorship from 1959 to the present day.
The text takes as its starting point the anniversary of the expulsion of priests and religious figures aboard the Spanish ship Covadonga, which occurred on September 17, 1961, when Fidel Castro's government sent 136 religious individuals to Spain.
Reyes recalls that between 1959 and 1961, the government instigated a massive exodus of clergy: from approximately 800 priests and 2,000 nuns at the beginning, only about 200 of each group remained on the Island.
"This town fought against Batista to restore democracy and freedom, and the Church was part of that struggle," writes the priest, who recalls that it was Monsignor Enrique Pérez Serantes, archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, who saved Fidel Castro's life after the assault on the Moncada Barracks.
Reyes points out that the Church was one of the first institutions to notice the totalitarian shift of the Revolution, through the pastoral letter "Rome or Moscow," and this stance gave it "an identity that has persisted to this day: that of being an uncomfortable neighbor."
Then, he precisely lists the reasons for this discomfort for the regime: "The Church is uncomfortable because in a society pushed towards lies, double standards, and betrayal, it has always managed to offer a place for free expression, a refuge against fear, a space to exist."
It also emphasizes that the Church "has raised and continues to raise its voice against the suffering of the people, against the injustice of political prisoners, against the isolation of the families of the prisoners, and against the lack of freedom and opportunities that the Island endures."
One of the most compelling passages of the text is the denunciation of the Office of Religious Affairs (OAAR), affiliated with the Central Committee of the Communist Party since 1985, which controls permits for religious activities, the repair of temples, the registration of groups, and the entry or expulsion of missionaries.
"It is the Office that spies on the life of the Church, that presents complaints to bishops and religious superiors about priests whose voices it wants to silence; it is the Office that has sought to penetrate seminaries through agents who have feigned a religious vocation," writes Reyes.
And it concludes with a statement that summarizes its central thesis: "The Church against which this people was unleashed has ultimately become not only their refuge but also the voice that defends them, the hand that helps them, the voice of their hope."
The publication comes days after Reyes granted an interview to CiberCuba in which he stated that Cuba is “infinitely worse” than during the Special Period due to the total absence of hope, and that any dialogue with the regime should focus on how and when the rulers relinquish power.
Father Reyes has faced systematic pressure from State Security: in January he was summoned along with Priest Castor José Álvarez Devesa in Camagüey. Reyes described the summons as a “intimidation” aimed at issuing a warning against them for their public criticisms.
The Cuban troubadour Raúl Torres, known for his songs exalted to Fidel and Raúl Castro and his unwavering support for the regime, published a public letter in June in which he harshly criticized the priest from Camagüey.
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