Good News for Good Friday

(Ecce Homo by Caravaggio, 1605)

There have been mixed reviews regarding the Pope’s recent visit to Cuba.  According to the Huffington Post, some Cuban-Americans are lamenting that he met “with Fidel Castro, but not with dissidents.”

However, there is now good news for Cubans who wish to more freely honor Good Friday.  The Associated Press reported that, “in light of the success of Benedict’s

‘transcendental visit’ to the country,” this year’s Good Friday has been declared a holiday by the Cuban government.  This decision comes in the wake of Benedict’s appeal for such during “a one-on-one with Cuban President Raul Castro.”  The Associated Press added that “…Cuba’s supreme governing body, will later decide whether to make the holiday permanent.”

Although Cuba has been traditionally considered to be a Catholic country, many Cuban Catholics were persecuted after the communist revolution of 1959.  Wikipedia states that between 1959 and 1961, “eighty percent of the professional Catholic priests and Protestant ministers left Cuba for the United States.” Atheism was widely promoted, and religious beliefs were labeled anything from ignorant to symptomatic of mental illness.  By the early 1990s, “Cuban society had become almost totally secularized.”

In light of this repressive history, the current news about Good Friday seems all the more significant.  This day, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus (“Good” referring to “pious” or “holy”), has long been considered to be one of the most important ones in the Catholic liturgical calendar.

Resources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/pope-benedict-cuban-americans-criticism_n_1390820.html?ref=mostpopular

http://news.yahoo.com/cuba-declares-good-friday-holiday-following-pope-benedict-121259810.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Cuba

Copyright April 3, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved