Politics and Civil Society in Cuba

Indirect Confrontation:The Evolution of the Political Strategy of the Cuban Catholic

Catholic Church have formulated new strategies to confront the revo-

lutionary government as they have worked to preserve their institu-

tional independence and carve out a role for the church as an

autonomous, national institution within a society dominated by the

state. As a result, the Cuban Catholic Church has become an innova-

tor of contentious strategies in a region where the once hegemonic

social influence of the Catholic Church has eroded considerably. Tak-

ing into account both past strategies and the present political postur-

ing of the Cuban Catholic Church, the arguments and evidence

presented here demonstrate not only the importance of the institu-

tional independence of the church and its innovative strategy toward

confronting the Cuban government, but how vital the church and its

laity will be in the building of democratic institutions and a democratic

political culture should Cuba begin a transition toward democracy in

the near future.

The Cuban Catholic Church: From Direct to Indirect

Confrontation

Historically a privileged institution, the Cuban Catholic Church was

perceived by many as a foreign, elitist church up to the start of the

revolutionary era. Before 1959, Cuban church leaders remained

closely tied to Spain (the church itself was for the most part made up

of clergy born in Spain rather than in Cuba), focused more on elite

education than extensive grassroots pastoral initiatives, and concen-

trated their personnel in urban rather than rural areas. In the months

and years following the triumph of the revolutionary forces on New

Year’s Day 1959, it became apparent that the new political system was

moving closer to adopting an ideology based on atheistic commu-

nism. Catholic leaders soon found themselves both the patrons of

churches experiencing rising attendance and the leaders of the coun-

try’s most prominent nongovernmental institution when religion was

becoming the logical motivator for opposition to the new revolution.