Havana, Cuba, Mar 23, 2012 / 12:06 pm
As Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba nears, local leaders of peaceful dissent say families were key to maintaining the country's Catholicism amid government repression.
“The process of de-Christianization was one of the initial objectives of the regime and was maintained for decades, because they knew that they could not dominate the people of Cuba if they did not empty them spiritually first,” said Oswaldo Paya, global director of the Christian Liberation Movement.
“And I don’t think they were successful thanks to families,” Paya told CNA.
His remarks on former president Fidel Castro's 1950s revolution and subsequent regime come as Pope Benedict heads to Mexico today for a visit that will include traveling to Cuba from March 26-29.