Cuba Curbs Commission's Mission

A planned trip to Cuba this week by a U.S. religious freedom watchdog group has been canceled after the Cuban government did not issue visas to delegation members, the group said Monday, even as the Obama administration moved to ease sanctions on the communist nation.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said it had been forced by the lack of visas to call off the fact-finding visit that had been scheduled to run from Tuesday to Thursday. It said the visas had been applied for weeks earlier, and it received no explanation for why they were not granted.

"We are very disappointed by the Cuban government's refusal to allow an official U.S. delegation to investigate firsthand Cuban citizens' freedom to believe and practice their faith on the island," said commission chairwoman Felice Gaer, noting that China, Vietnam, Laos, Saudi Arabia and other countries had allowed visits. "Does the Cuban government have something to hide?"

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By Matthew Lee, Associated Press

Another Cuban Crisis

Scottish audio version here

Luke 6:22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (NIV)

There’s a report out this morning that the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), Clifton Kirkpatrick, has signed a petition urging the present Whitehouse Administration to lift restrictions on travel to Cuba for missionaries and other church workers. Because of the current political climate, American churches that want to work with congregations in Cuba have to get through a lot of bureaucratic red-tape and accept time restrictions. This is hindering vital missions on the island, especially when the church appears to be under-going a revival.

In this morning’s report from Presbynews, several faith leaders expressed their concerns as follows:

Citing a long, shared history of relationship, interaction with and support of Cuban church partners, the American faith leaders say the recent re-interpretations of U.S. travel regulations and the resulting limitations "are unfair and inappropriate, restrain religious freedom and reflect undue governmental interference in the exercise of religion.”

Their concerns are genuine, but the issues involved are not just one-sided. The Cuban people have been restricted by their own government, too; and throughout the decades of Castro’s dictatorship, the church has been persecuted, oppressed and harassed. In 1998, when Pope John Paul II visited the country, he asked that a Christian leader, Jorge Antuñez, be released from prison. He had been held in captivity since 1993 for demanding reforms in the country. Antuñez was only just released in April, 2007.

If releasing the restrictions on travel to Cuba will help the Cuban churches, then we should pray that our own government will be sympathetic to this inter-denominational petition. But we should also remember those whose travel is restricted in Cuba, especially those pastors who are under house arrest or being badly mistreated by prison guards, according to some Christian ministry reports.

As we celebrate Flag Day this week, perhaps we should remind ourselves of the blessings that our freedom has given to our faith, as well as remembering the plight of those around the world whose loyalty to Christ as their Lord and Savior costs them their homes, their livelihood, their liberty, and sadly, sometimes their lives.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is so easy for us to become complacent about what our faith is all about. We don’t realize how hard it is for some people to take up Your Cross and walk in Your path. Help us to recognize that unjust things happen to Christians all over the globe. Give us the heart and determination to support them, their families, churches and Christian communities through being aware of these situations, instead of ignoring this information. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.