Washington D.C., Jun 20, 2017 / 02:09 am
President Donald Trump's changes to U.S. policy on Cuba will end up weakening human rights in the island country, the United States bishops have said.
"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in solidarity with the bishops of Cuba and the Holy See, has long held that human rights and religious freedom will be strengthened through more engagement between the Cuban and American people, not less," said Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.
"For decades, we have called for the U.S. travel ban and embargo against Cuba to be lifted," he continued in a June 19 statement.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops objected that the move would affect U.S. citizens' travel to Cuba and would hinder U.S. commerce with entities controlled by the Cuban government.