Miami bishops ask prayers for Cuba as ill Castro cedes power

Published: 2006-08-02

MIAMI (CNS) -- The bishops of the Archdiocese of Miami asked Catholics in their archdiocese to pray for Cuba as its longtime leader, Fidel Castro, transferred power to his brother, Raul, following surgery for intestinal bleeding. "May Our Lady of Charity unify all Cubans and protect them from evil so that freedom, justice, truth and peace may triumph," said the Aug. 1 statement. The statement was signed by Archbishop John C. Favalora, Auxiliary Bishops John G. Noonan and Felipe J. Estevez, and retired Auxiliary Bishop Agustin A. Roman. Bishop Roman is a native of Cuba who was expelled as a priest in 1961; Bishop Estevez, also a Cuban native, left in 1961 as one of 14,000 teenagers in a Catholic humanitarian program called Operation Pedro Pan. "The free Cuban people are watching with caution and attention the events related to the government on the island" nation of Cuba, the statement said. "The Archdiocese of Miami shares this hour with our Cuban brothers and sisters. We invite all to be calm, to exercise good judgment and to intensify their prayers for the good of Cuba so that these long suffering people may live in a society where all rights are respect(ed)," it said.

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