Thursday, September 10, 2015

Cuba’s Controversial Cardinal Takes Centre Stage with Pope’s Visit

 
 Cardinal Jaime Ortega


Reuters, 10/09 20:17 CET

By Daniel Trotta

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cardinal Jaime Ortega rose from labour camp inmate in the 1960s to become one of Cuba’s leading political figures, leveraging a non-confrontational style into a rare position of influence for someone outside the Communist Party.

With Pope Francis visiting Cuba next week, Ortega’s role in boosting the power of the Roman Catholic Church on the island has drawn both praise and scorn.

Cuba’s small but vocal dissident community and hardline Cuban-American exiles in Miami believe he has become too cozy with the government and should be doing more for human rights and democratic freedoms.

Ortega, 78, enjoys unrivaled access among religious leaders to Cuban President Raul Castro and he has long been an ally of Argentine-born Pope Francis since their years together in the Latin American Bishops’ Council.

A soft-spoken cleric with a ready smile, Ortega negotiated the release of 126 political prisoners in 2010 and 2011. He also played a role last year in Cuba’s detente with the United States, leading to the renewal of diplomatic relations after 54 years of Cold War hostility.

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Source: Euronews

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