Vatican City, February 1 (ANI): Amid rising tensions between Cuba and the United States, Pope Leo XIV has called on all parties to engage in “sincere and effective dialogue” for the well-being of the Cuban people, Vatican News reported.
Speaking at the Angelus on Sunday, the Pope expressed “great concern” over the situation.
“I join the message of the Cuban Bishops, inviting all those responsible to promote sincere and effective dialogue, in order to avoid violence and any action that could increase the suffering of the beloved Cuban people,” he said, as quoted by Vatican News.
On Saturday, the Catholic Bishops of Cuba issued a message “to all Cubans of goodwill,” voicing concerns over the country’s deepening economic, social, and humanitarian crises.
“Cuba needs changes, and they are increasingly urgent, but it does not need any more anguish or pain,” wrote the Bishops. “No more blood and no more mourning in Cuban families. We have had too much of that in our recent history!”
The Bishops emphasized their desire for a “renewed, prosperous, and happy Cuba,” noting that this cannot come at the cost of increased suffering. They highlighted the imposition of US tariffs on countries exporting oil, warning that “the risk of social chaos is real.”
“The unchanging position of the Pope and of the Holy See, consistent with international law,” the Bishops said, “is that governments should be able to resolve their disagreements and conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, not coercion or war.”
They added that “respect for the dignity and the exercise of the freedom of each human being within one’s own nation cannot be subordinated or conditioned by the variables of external conflicts.” The Bishops also called for “an environment of healthy plurality and mutual respect” within Cuba, noting that these factors contribute to fruitful international engagement.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned US President Donald Trump’s attempt to “suffocate” Cuba’s sanctions-hit economy, according to Al Jazeera. Trump had signed an executive order on Thursday threatening additional tariffs on countries selling oil to Cuba, alleging that the communist-run government posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security.
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