Indirect Confrontation:The Evolution of the Political Strategy of the Cuban Catholic
tinue to call into question is the lack of political pluralism in Cuba,
though without characterizing the regime as totalitarian and in only
scattered instances criticizing the domination of the Cuban Commu-
nist Party (PCC).
A 2003 theological-pastoral instructoral of the COCC, entitled
“The Social Presence of the Church” (written to commemorate the
10-year anniversary of El amor todo lo espera), explicitly addressed the
Cuban Catholic Church's perspective on political involvement:
“The mission of the Church is not political; its mission is not to inter-
vene directly in the exercise of civil power, nor in the oppositional
structures of power, nor support one or another party, nor recommend
a candidate party up for vote in an election. In the political debate
amongst parties that confront one another or join in ideological or stra-
tegic alliances the Church must be neutral, although it is a part of its
ethic that the rights of everyone be respected in this debate.”^8Church leaders do not endorse specific political parties or movements
but they decry the fact that a variety of political options are not
offered by the Cuban political system. Catholic laypeople need only
be loyal to the Catholic Church, and must necessarily base their politi-
cal choices on Christian ethics. The church, then, would be against
any system that did not provide for political choices among which
Christians could choose. This is the indirect way in which democrati-
zation is advocated—avoiding mention of specific leaders, parties,
institutions, and political options that should be ousted, formed,
erected, or exercised (respectively), but acknowledging that a plurality
of potential leaders, parties, institutions, options should exist and
should be respected. While the Cuban Catholic Church does not
denounce the revolutionary system per se, it does affirm the existence
of a plurality of political options that would benefit Cuba should some
social force work toward the realization of those options.
There are very few physical spaces beyond the parish itself in
which church leaders can work to move forward with their mission of- Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Cuba, "La Presencia Social de la Iglesia" (Ins-
trucción Teológico-Pastoral, 2003).