Cubans express full enjoyment of religious freedom

During a meeting at the headquarters of the Quisicuaba Association, in the Havana municipality of Centro Habana, the organization published a press release expressing the sentiment of 'a very broad community of believers in full exercise of universal human rights.'

Religious freedom in Cuba, the document points out, is an integral part of Cuban identity and culture, and it is expressed in daily practice, since all religious denominations enjoy guarantees.

The statement also calls on doctors and scientists to continue saving lives in Cuba and worldwide, and for the lifting of the US unfair measures that have been imposed on the Cuban people.

'Let us continue to make unity in our blessed diversity,' says the document, which vows to strengthen ecumenism and interreligious dialogue every day.

A panel on religious freedom in Cuba was held on Monday, when the president of the Supreme Council of the Abakua Association, Orlando Gutierrez, highlighted that the Constitution, debated and approved by millions of Cubans, endorses the religious freedoms enjoyed by citizens.

Reverend Joel Ortega, executive secretary of the Cuban Council of Churches, praised the nation's efforts amid the fierce US economic blockade to make everyone have the basics.

He recalled that during the Covid-19 pandemic and despite the crisis, no patient was abandoned, and this is also the result of the fact that in Cuba the human being is the center of all the work.

There is no country that has done more than Cuba for culture, education and for the dignity of the human being, Ortega assured.

Meanwhile, the representative of the Baha'i Community of Cuba, Danieska Megret, referred to the excellent relations built with authorities on the basis of respect and good communication, which allows for the good development of all its social programs.

The panel also referred to actions designed from abroad to promote violent scenarios in the country, using lies and social networks, and campaigns related to the alleged lack of religious freedoms.

'In the face of it, we must be vigilant and fight for everything that unites us, against what separates us,' Gutierrez warned.