Last updated on April 3rd, 2024 at 05:11 am
According to multiple reports, the Communist Party of Cuba has banned Christians from observing traditional Holy Week processions leading up to Easter in various parts of the country. Critics suggest that the move by the state, which extends to major cities such as Havana, stems from fear of protests similar to recent anti-communist demonstrations.
Priests and nuns have been at the forefront of dissent in Cuba, with many actively organizing protest activities against the country’s communist regime. Notably, Fray Lester Zayas of Havana’s Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish asserted that the authorities prohibited a Good Friday procession as a form of “punishment” for his vocal opposition to the regime. Fray Zayas denounced the move as an assault on religious freedom.
In Bayamo, a recent site of peaceful protests, an office representative for the Religious Affairs division of the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee allegedly announced the procession ban without offering any specific reason. Critics of the regime argue that this is an attempt to thwart any potential gatherings that could ignite further protests.
The decision to bar these Holy Week ceremonies has been attacked by various human rights and religious groups, including the Prisoners Defenders, a Spain-based human rights NGO. Additionally, the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 936 instances of the Castro regime infringing on religious freedom in the country during 2023.