Sunday, July 3, 2011 (3:42 am)
HAVANA, CUBA (Worthy News)– Baptist Pastor Mario Felix Lleonart Barroso
and his wife, Yoaxis, were part of the 23 Christians detained by Cuban
police in Santa Clara, said Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a
major religious rights group.
They were picked up by police Sunday morning, June 26, and released five
hours later, after the service had ended, CSW told Worthy News. The
worship service at the Santa Clara Methodist Church was held in support
of Pastor Toranzo, who was reportedly removed from his position by the
Methodist Bishop Ricardo Pereira Dias, because of his refusal to deny
pastoral support to human rights activists and members of the political
opposition.
Pastor Toranzo is the second high-profile pastor in Santa Clara to step
down or be removed this year because of government pressure in the
Communist-run island, according to church observers.
GOVERNMENT PRESSURE
Baptist Pastor Homero Carbonell issued a statement at the start of 2011
saying that he and his church had come under "severe government
pressure" because of his refusal to expel families of political
prisoners from the church, CSW said.
Pastors Carbonell and Toranzo were reportedly also involved in a
cross-denominational citywide march on Easter Sunday in 2010 which drew
thousands and angered the authorities. "We strongly condemn the official
pressure on church leaders in Cuba to deny pastoral support to certain
members of their congregations because of their political affiliations,"
added CSW's Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston.
"We call on the Cuban government to cease their interference in the
internal affairs of religious organizations and in particular to uphold
the right of religious leaders to minister to all regardless of their
political beliefs," he said.
The Santa Clara Methodist Church has publicly urged the bishop to
reverse his decision and church leaders of all denominations in Santa
Clara have reportedly appealed to the Methodist hierarchy in support of
Pastor Toranzo. There is general agreement among church leaders in Santa
Clara that the Bishop's decision was made because of intense government
pressure, CSW said.
The group claimed that it has received reports from sources in Cuba
confirming similar pressure on leaders in other denominations. "There
have also been reports that the authorities are making increased use of
short-term detentions as opposed to long spells in prison, a tactic
which CSW believes is being deployed to deflect international attention
from the ongoing harassment of pastors."
NO COMMENT
Cuban officials have not yet commented on the latest developments. This
year Cuba released the last of 75 dissidents, including Christians, who
were detained in the 2003 crackdown.
The move following a ground-breaking deal brokered by the Roman Catholic
Church in which Cuba's President Raul Castro agreed to free the
remaining 52 inmates.
The Cuban government denies however that it as ever hold political
prisoners and considers dissidents as "mercenaries financed by the
U.S."to destabilize the government.
Read more about the Christian Persecution in Cuba:
http://www.worthynews.com/news/christian-persecution/americas/cuba
http://www.worthynews.com/10485-cuba-detains-over-20-christians-in-new-crackdown-activists-say
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