U.S.-Cuba tensions make U.S. dollars unwelcome in helping Cubans

Published: 2004-12-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Giving away money is normally easy. But right now takers are leery if the dollars come from the U.S. government and are for people-to-people programs building bridges between the United States and Cuba. The usually turbulent relations between the U.S. government and the 46-year-old regime of Cuban President Fidel Castro have whipped up to hurricane force during the Bush administration. Caught in the eye of the storm are U.S. Catholic universities being encouraged by the U.S. Agency for International Development to apply for government grants to promote people-to-people programs aimed at transforming the country into a democracy in the post-Castro era. U.S. Catholic institutions are valuable links because of their strong ties to the Cuban Catholic Church, the only national organization in the Caribbean country independent of the government. But Catholic university officials worry that accepting U.S. funds could put their programs at risk. It also appears that the Cuban bishops would not participate in programs funded directly or indirectly by the U.S. government given the Cuban government's antagonism toward U.S.-sponsored initiatives.

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