Angelenos have been helping to restore Catholic churches and a hospital in Cuba --- the communist island nation which for several decades persecuted Catholics but now allows limited religious freedoms.
The restoration efforts are not without controversy. Some members of the Los Angeles Cuban community worry that funds raised could be used by the dictatorship government of Fidel Castro to prop up its shaky hold on power. Others warn that with churches in disrepair, another generation of Cuban youth will not be evangelized in a Catholic faith that could sustain their hope for a better future.
No new churches have been built in Cuba since the communist revolution of January 1, 1959, said Cuban-born Father Marcos Gonzalez, associate pastor of Holy Family Church in Glendale. For several decades Cubans risked losing their jobs if they attended church services. But prior to the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in 1998, the government relaxed its harassment of practicing Catholics.
Still, more than 47 years of neglect and a severe shortage of construction materials have left many existing churches in critical disrepair.
"If the buildings crumble, Castro could care less, but we will have lost part of our heritage," says Father Gonzalez, on the eve of this weekend's visit to Los Angeles by Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana.
The 40-something priest decided to rigorously fundraise for his nearly 200-year-old hometown church outside of Havana following a 2003 hurricane that destroyed the roof, blew out the windows and left extensive water damage. More than $105,000 has been raised for San Jose Church in Güira de Melena and another $10,000 for a second nearby church. Most of the funds were raised in Los Angeles among Cubans and other supporters, and some of it in Miami.
Another $10,000 was raised from members of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem to support the Hospital of St. Lazarus. There, the Daughters of Charity care for Cubans afflicted with the ancient disease of leprosy --- the only hospital where religious sisters were not expelled following the communist revolution, says Father Gonzalez.
Cardinal Roger Mahony assisted Father Gonzalez by sending the funds to the papal nuncio in Washington, D.C., who then forwarded it to the papal nuncio in Cuba. This was done to ensure that the money was given to Cardinal Ortega directly and did not land in the hands of the Cuban government.
However, the restoration work of San Jose Church is a huge test of patience and determination for Father Gonzalez and the parish community. Every step of the reconstruction effort is stalled by government officials trying to mire the priest in endless bureaucracy.
Two months ago, the energetic priest, who wears the traditional black cassock, bought a church organ in Spain through the Internet. But the instrument has been languishing at the Cuban customs office. To date, government officials are stalling its release.
"Now there is indirect persecution, like not giving permission. Allowing a church organ into the country is a great, monumental, bureaucratic process," says Father Gonzalez, who visits his hometown every winter. What allows him to persevere is his long-term vision of reaching Cuba's youth, a generation he worries about a great deal.
Low wages have led many to abandon their educations and their professional fields to try and survive by working in the black market.
"What's the future of the young people if they don't see any hope for their homeland?" asks Father Gonzalez. "They all want to leave the island."
Father Gonzalez hopes that repairing the church will help to restore a sense of hope in a different kind of future for the young people of the parish.
With funds to purchase a big screen TV, a regular Friday movie night draws in the youth who now interact regularly with the parish priest and discuss life themes raised by the films.
"The youth see a group that's talking about something other than communist indoctrination --- like goodness and love," says Father Gonzalez.
San Jose Church, which for years held on by the faith of its elder women, is once again attracting children, youth and men. Young people are learning catechism, something most of their parents were not permitted to do, he says. "Now you have little children learning about God and teaching their parents."
Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, archbishop of Havana, Cuba, will celebrate Mass with the greater Los Angeles Cuban community June 18, 12:15 p.m. at Holy Family Church, 209 E. Lomita Ave., Glendale. A reception will follow in the parish hall.
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