US bishops express concern at strengthening of embargo against Cuba

Archbishop Timothy P Broglio

Source: USCCB

In response to the Trump Administration's recent policy modifications on Cuba - restricting travel to the island and thus further scaling back the rapprochement between the two countries - Archbishop Timothy P Broglio, JCD, of the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA, and Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, expresses USCCB's concern that the strengthening of the embargo against Cuba is, ultimately, counterproductive to the development of civil society on the island.

Archbishop Broglio's full statement follows:

"In light of the Administration's recent policy modifications on US citizen travel to Cuba, I reiterate our longstanding support for safeguarding religious travel to the island under general license, as well as ensuring the ability of the Church in Cuba to receive religious donative remittances. The very survival of the Church in Cuba is dependent on the freedom of religious travel and donations from abroad.

"Thanks to the generosity of American Catholics, for decades USCCB has supported the work of the Church in Cuba, providing her with financial, pastoral, and advocacy assistance. The Holy See and USCCB have long held that the key to Cuba's transformation depends not on isolation, but on greater cultural exchange between freedom-loving people on the island and the United States. A half century of rigid isolation has consolidated only one thing: the very political structures US Government policy seeks to change"