Visiting with the Cuban community of Los Angeles for the first time, Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana expressed his hope that Cubans of faith remain united wherever they live.
"The love of Jesus unites us. It's a unity that no one can break," said Cardinal Ortega in Spanish to a standing-room congregation of more than 800 people at Holy Family Church in Glendale June 18.
The cardinal, who served several terms as president of the Cuban bishops' conference and now heads the Catholic humanitarian aid agency Caritas Cuba, addressed the U.S. bishops at their spring meeting in a closed-door session June 16.
Two days later, he celebrated the 12:30 p.m. Mass at Holy Family with ten priests concelebrating, including several Cuban-born priests now ministering in Los Angeles. Cuban Catholics and Holy Family parishioners applauded as the cardinal made his way up the center aisle to the altar, waving at well-wishers.
Celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi, Cardinal Ortega, 69, reflected on how Jesus appeared to his disciples in the glory of his resurrected body while still showing the scars of his passion and crucifixion.
Sacrifice is always present in the life of a Christian and in the church, said Cardinal Ortega, who was detained in work camps in 1966 following the Cuban communist revolution of 1959 when priests were being expelled or incarcerated.
Today, Cubans on the island encounter severe travel restrictions from the dictatorship government of Fidel Castro. In the United States, Cuban Americans face tightened travel restrictions to Cuba as part of the U.S. trade embargo against the island, allowing them to visit close family members only every three years.
"Sometimes it's painful the different culture, the distance, the reality of not being with loved ones when you want to," said the cardinal. "We have a capacity to persevere through the difficulties of life."
The authentic Christian life, he added in his calm, baritone voice, allows people to be able to suffer and still be at peace.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the cardinal offered a special blessing to fathers on Father's Day.
Cardinal Ortega, an unhurried man with a ready smile, greeted everyone who wanted to talk with him on the lawn outside the church and later in the parish hall. Many embraced with emotion, recalling decades past when they knew him in Cuba or received the sacraments from him.
Gisela Valle recalled how her cousin, then-Father Ortega, would not leave Cuba after the communist revolution. "He said his obligation was to Cuba. He wanted to fight for the church in Cuba," said Valle, a parishioner of Beatitudes of Our Lord Church in La Mirada with her husband Gerardo.
Mario Tepanes, a parishioner of St. Timothy Church in West Los Angeles, said he thought the cardinal's first visit to Los Angeles "is an affirmation of the Cuban faith community here." Tepanes said he participates in the annual Cuban Mass in Los Angeles honoring Cuba's patron Our Lady of Charity of el Cobre.
Cuban-born Father Diosdado Martin, chaplain to the LA Cuban Catholic community, said that the cardinal's visit signified the inherent unity of the Cuban people. "Among Cubans, some of us are there and others of us are here, but we are not separated," he said. "There's a lot of joy with this gathering."
Following a reception in the parish hall that included cakes and guayaba pastries from the popular Glendale Cuban bakery Portos, the cardinal proceeded to answer handwritten questions for an hour. He pointedly steered clear of political questions, saying he would leave those to people who knew more about politics.
He did talk about the renovation of dilapidated churches and the Catholic Church's evangelization efforts. Ever since the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in 1998, annual processions in honor of Our Lady of Charity have swelled to thousands of people, he said. However, the Castro government, still in power more than 47 years, does not allow the church to open any Catholic schools.
Cardinal Ortega, well versed in the history of former communist Eastern Europe, said he has consulted with bishops who lived through that period. "The church needs to be alive and present always. We can't be absent from any society," he said. "We can't act with methods that aren't out of love. We as Christians have to have the same style as Christ."
The cardinal pointed out that around the time of Pope John Paul's visit to Cuba, the pope asked Fidel Castro to talk to the communist Vietnamese government about allowing the Catholic Church in Vietnam to appoint new bishops, a request Vietnam granted the church.
Strategy, said Cardinal Ortega, is important. "Look how John Paul II's visit to Cuba served to help open up new bishops in Vietnam. Our attitude has to be totally pastoral and Christian," a path he acknowledged can be very difficult.
"I understand your impatience," added the cardinal. His solution has been to keep returning to the Gospel. "The day that the cross is taken away from Christians, it will no longer be the church of Christ," he said.
Members of the greater Los Angeles Cuban community said the cardinal witnessed the Christian life of patient suffering and joyful hope.
Ada Fernandez-DeLaRosa, a member of the Agrupación Catolica Cubana Caridad del Cobre (an association of Los Angeles Cuban Catholic groups) said she was moved by the cardinal's serenity in the face of adversity. "His peace gives him a lot of strength. This is hopeful for the church in Cuba," said Fernandez-DeLaRosa, adding that the cardinal also conveyed a message to Cubans in the Diaspora. "He's calling us to be stronger in the faith and also in charity." Editor's note: Next week The Tidings will feature an exclusive interview with Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana.
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