Welcome
¡Vamos!
A blog about the Church in Latin America
by Fr. Andrew Small, OMI, Director for the Church in Latin America
In Support of Peace in Honduras
The Subcommittee recently sponsored a solidarity visit to the Church in Honduras, led by Most Rev. Oscar Cisneros, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn. In light of recent tensions in Honduras and the fear of violence as the country attempted to settle the existing political impasse, the Subcommittee was present to the Honduran Church and all Hondurans as a sign of the concern and support of the USCCB for a peaceful resolution to the current problems.
Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros of Brooklyn, N.Y., walks with Auxiliary Bishop Juan Pineda Fasquelle of Tegucigalpa at the start of Mass at St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Oct. 18. Bishop Cisneros was in Honduras representing the U.S. bishops' work for the Church in Latin America. (CNS photo/Carlos Alberto Ramos).
The visit also offered a good opportunity to visit with potential pastoral programs. One such program involves the formation of laity and religious in a program of natural family planning and human sexuality at the renowned Center for Education in Family Life http://www.cevifa.org/. Operated under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, the program will train instructors in the Church’s teaching on family planning and human sexuality for ninety participants. These instructors will recruit a further 450 couples across the archdiocese and the neighboring dioceses of Olancho, Trujillo and Taro who will offer education and training on the topic to their local communities. The general objective is to reduce maternal and infant mortality in Honduras through training in the natural modern methods of family planning for men and women. The Subcommittee provided a grant of $35,000 for this very important pastoral work.
USCCB Director for the Church in Latin America, Fr. Andrew Small, OMI, and Most Rev. Octavio Cisneros attend a news conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras during a recent solidarity visit to the country on behalf of the U.S. Bishops. In the foreground is a statue of the Virgin of Suyapa, the Patroness of Honduras. (CNS photo/Carlos Alberto Ramos).
“The World Should Open Itself To Cuba, and Cuba to the World”
So urged Servant of God Pope John Paul II during his visit to Cuba in 1998. A good portion of the world was represented in the Benedictine Monastery in Havana recently as they welcomed a delegation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Cardinal Séan O’Malley concluded the visit in the Monastery church - a former Carmelite convent [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1BQiYrXFtU] - and led the group in the great hymn to the Blessed Mother - Hail, Queen of Heaven known by its Latin opening words Ave Regina Caeolorum. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqxDljqBhDg] The monks hail from Asia (Philippines) Africa (Togo) and Europe (Germany). Together with the North Americans, the “two or three gathered” in prayer that day showed how the Catholic Church - from the East to the West - was opening itself more and more to the Cuban people.
Headed by Cardinal Séan O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston [http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/2009/08/28/visiting-cuba/] and accompanied by Bishop Tom Wenski of Orlando and Bishop Oscar Cantu from San Antonio, the group traveled to Havana, Holguin and Santiago de Cuba where they visited the Shrine to Our Lady of Charity [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSdcSvPBj_Q] and other major cities in Cuba an expression of solidarity with the Cuban Church. It was especially important since the Cuban people are still trying to recover from the series of hurricanes that hit the island last September that destroyed a half a million homes. Only half of them have so far been rebuilt.
Rebuild What You Have, Because You Can’t Build Anything New
The Church in Cuba has not been able to build new churches in 50 years. This is a problem since the population has grown and many people live in areas where there are no churches for miles around. The hurricane damaged many of the small chapels. With help from the Collection for the Church in Latin America, chapels were repaired [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LirVqKgoDNY] and in some cases rebuilt [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz5ARRpDy_Q] so that people can gather and celebrate mass. People are creative in Cuba! This group of sisters converted their garage into a meeting place where mass can be celebrated and CCD classes can take place [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emzATp1rH9A]. The Head of the U.S. Interests Section, Jonathan Farrar even acted as a bridge so that the Collection could support those Churches that needed most help. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inNOaW_jVBk]
The storms destroyed over half a million homes as well as crops and food supplies leaving millions of people scrambling for shelter and sustenance. Complicating the recovery effort was the difficulty in getting help to Cuba from the United States. Through the Collection for the Church in Latin America, administered by this office, over $850,000 was sent to Cuban church officials to help with the clean up.