The Cuban priest Alberto Reyes Pías stated that “Cuba is a country in ruins” and defended the need for a political system change to rebuild the nation, although he warned that no institutional transformation will be sufficient if Cubans do not manage to overcome the wounds accumulated over decades of persecution, divisions, and confrontations.
In the latest installment of his series of reflections, published this Friday on Facebook, the parish priest of Esmeralda, Camagüey, stated that the reconstruction of the country must encompass both its political and social structures as well as the relationships among its citizens.
"Cuba is a country in ruins. Over these nearly 70 years, the deterioration has become widespread: the houses, the roads, the services, the institutions, the people..." the religious leader wrote.
Reyes believed that the magnitude of this deterioration demands a transformation of the foundations upon which Cuban society operates.
However, the priest warned that replacing institutions and changing laws will not, by itself, guarantee the construction of a different society.
To explain his concerns, Reyes recalled the human consequences that, in his view, have resulted from decades of political control, conflicts, and divisions within Cuban society.
"Throughout all these years, we have hurt each other a lot. We have attacked each other, we have spied on each other, we have betrayed each other," he expressed.
The priest also mentioned the participation of Cubans in military conflicts abroad, mandatory military service, and the abuses that, as he reported, some young people have suffered during their service.
He also recalled that generations of Cubans were forced to study under scholarships as a condition to access university, which separated them from their families at an early age. He also mentioned the ideological pressures in education and the harassment of individuals based on their religious beliefs.
In his reflection, he also included the persecution and imprisonment of those who have expressed opinions contrary to the political power.
For Reyes, these experiences have left consequences that would not automatically disappear with a potential political transition.
We are a people submerged in material ruins, but even more submerged in our wounds, our resentments, our contained anger,” he wrote.
One of the central arguments of the priest is that a future transformation of Cuba must ensure that the desire for justice does not turn into an opportunity for retaliation.
"If we do not heal our hearts, we risk reproducing tomorrow what we reject today, and confusing justice with revenge," he warned.
The religious leader insisted that forgiveness should not be used as an argument to ignore past abuses or to prevent those responsible from being held accountable.
"For that reason, justice will be necessary, but so will forgiveness," he stated.
Reyes developed this idea by making a distinction between forgiving and relinquishing responsibilities for the harm caused.
"To forgive does not mean to forget, to justify the unjustifiable, or to renounce the justice that must be served," he stated.
According to his explanation, forgiveness involves preventing the suffering experienced from dictating future relationships between individuals.
A society that does not learn to forgive may remain forever trapped by its wounds, he warned.
The priest suggested that the reconstruction of Cuba cannot be limited to repairing buildings, roads, or public services; it must also include the recovery of coexistence among people who have held deep differences for years.
In one of the most personal passages of his reflection, Reyes recalled a conversation he had some time ago with a young man who kept a list of people against whom he wished to take revenge.
Far from recommending that painful experiences be forgotten, Reyes suggested that each person acknowledge those who have caused them harm and begin a conscious process of forgiveness.
The religious figure suggested that this exercise should be carried out without denying the suffering and, when necessary, by seeking help to face the deeper wounds.
His approach stems from the concern about what might happen after a possible political change, especially if accumulated resentments turn into new forms of confrontation among Cubans.
"The true reconstruction of a country that has been immersed in hatred and division begins when we stop focusing on pain and anger," he reflected.
Reyes concluded his message with a call to prevent future generations from inheriting the conflicts and resentments of their parents.
The new publication maintains a critical line that the priest has developed over the past few months, although it places greater emphasis on the need for reconciliation and forgiveness in light of a potential transformation in Cuba.
Days earlier, Reyes had warned that telling the truth in Cuba has consequences, but remaining silent also means giving up the chance to build a different future.
In that reflection, titled "I've Been Thinking About the Price of Truth," he denounced the fear of expressing political opinions and the normalization of silence within Cuban society.
One week earlier, the priest had urged Cubans not to resign themselves to living permanently in conditions of survival, characterized by power outages, shortages of food and medicine, and a loss of hope for the future.
In that message, he defended the need to regain the ability to imagine a different country and argued that political change should be accompanied by a transformation in the attitude of the citizens.
Also, during an interview granted in September, Reyes advocated for a negotiated political transition that would lead to the departure of the current rulers, rather than just introducing reforms that would sustain the same system.
The religious figure then proposed that a dialogue table could be useful for agreeing on the conditions of that transition, with the possible involvement of the Catholic Church.
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