Havana, Cuba, Oct 10, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Just one day after Bishop Alfredo Victor Petit Vergel of San Cristobal de la Habana, Cuba, who is currently in Rome for the General Synod of Bishops, praised much-needed, home-based churches which meet in his country for Mass and worship, Cubans are now expecting a government crackdown on religious meetings in private homes. The wide-sweeping regulations could curtail Catholic and Evangelical worship services indefinitely.
The bishop said yesterday in his Synod address that, "In spite of the lack of priests, we have enormous esteem for the Eucharist and it is celebrated with great respect for liturgical norms."
"Faced with the difficulty and the practical impossibility of constructing new churches," he said, however, "we have what are known as 'prayer houses' or 'mission houses' located in suburbs, in small villages and in country homes where each week, or as often as they can, small groups of faithful, not more than 40, gather together under the guidance of a committed lay person, a religious or a deacon. The priest comes to these houses and Mass is celebrated with great devotion and respect for liturgical norms, care being taken to ensure sacramental Confession for those who ... wish to participate in the Eucharistic bread."
The new governmental restrictions were announced in April of this year, but their implementation is expected this month.