Washington D.C., Aug 4, 2010 / 08:19 am
Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, Cuba, announced at the Knights of Columbus' annual States Dinner that thanks to the mediation of the Catholic Conference of Cuban Bishops, fifty-two prisoners of conscience will be released within three to four months.
Upon receiving the Gaudium et Spes award on the evening of August 3, Cardinal Ortega said that “regardless of the distance, and the differences in our social or political systems, you have been brothers to the Cuban Catholics and have shown us your solidarity.”
The Cuban cardinal especially mentioned the Knights of Columbus' support in the construction of the new San Carlos y San Ambrosio National Seminary in Havana. The seminary is scheduled to open in November and will be able to house 100 seminarians.
Cardinal Ortega also highlighted that lay people have played a significant role in Cuba, “especially in the last 40 years, not only by the work they have carried out in some ministries due to the shortage of priests, but also by the social role they have played within families, at work places, schools and society in general; sometimes they have had to face hardships given the constrains and limitations suffered by believers in past decades.”