Havana, Cuba, Dec 15, 2004 / 22:00 pm
In a message that will be read next Sunday in all parishes, the bishops of Cuba call on the faithful to live reconciliation and they announce that the main task of the Church in 2005 will be evangelization.
In their message, the bishops invite the faithful to adopt “an attitude of reconciliation,” and they underscore that “the Church’s main reason for being is to proclaim the Kingdom of God, her great task is evangelization.”
The bishops recognize that in Cuba “a year that has seen its share of anxieties and threatening omens will come to an end,” but they asked that “during this Christmas, may that child we all have within overcome defeatism and anxiety for the future.”
“There are many internal limitations and needs of different kinds that we suffer here in Cuba, to which have been added external measures that outline a gloomy future for our nation,” said the bishops, referring to the decision by the US government to limit travel of Cuban-Americans to the island to one trip every three years as well as restricting the sending of money to family members.