SOME CUBAN CLERIC SUPPORT THE REVOLUTION
Not all the Cuban cleric was against the Revolution. Defending the Revolution was the Conciliatory of the University of Catholic Youth, Franciscan priest Luis De Zabala, when he assured that despite the atheist nature of the government and the constitution, it has not impeded the revolution to continue it's struggle for justice and equality... He added that, "All that is for the people based on justice and love is truly Christian,... It's not as important as what you say as what you do."
Father Ismael Teste, of the Parrish Pilar, pointed out that it was absolutely false that the Revolution was attacking religion, assuring that in Cuba there was freedom of religion.
The superior of the Order of Pasionistas Priests in Cuba, Evaristo Gracia, emphasized the freedom of religion in Cuba and the support given by the revolutionary government to the ministry.
Other clergy not only protested and rebelled against the reactionary element in the church but were active supporters of the Cuban Revolution.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE ATTACKS AGAINST THE REVOLUTION
The reactionary elements of the Catholic church in Cuba, basically based their attacks using anticommunist propaganda, and as such it placed itself against the interests of the poor, the working class and the peasants. It got to an extreme, where the Church was giving itself the right to counsel the Revolution, to tell the Revolution what to do and not to do.
In August of 1959 the revolutionary government accused the priest, Ricardo Velasco Ordonez (who had had ties with Batista), of planning an armed insurgency in the zone known as Trinidad. In this armed uprising, which was funded by the Dominican tyrant Trujillo, participated old Batista allies such as Roberto Martin Perez, son of the colonel Lutgardo Martin Perez, husband of the current spokeswoman for the CANF Ninoska Perez.
December 15, 1959 - The priests Eduardo Aguirre and Juan Ramon O'Farrill asked and received political asylum. With the intent of slandering the revolution, they later denounced the Castro government as a communist dictator, stating that Fidel Castro was going to separate the Cuban church from the Vatican. These statements were dispersed in the U.S. media with the aid of the archbishop of Chicago Richard Cushing and cardinal Spellman.
In 1960 the Spanish clergy in Cuba, circulated a statement reaffirming it's loyalty to the tyrant and anticommunist Franco of Spain. The Spanish clergy supported the ambassador of Franco in Cuba, Juan Pablo Lojendio Marquez de Vellisca. This was the same person who on the 20th of January 1960, violated international protocol and measures of security afforded a head of state when he intervened in a television program where Fidel Castro was denouncing the counterrevolutionary activities of the Spanish clergy and the Spanish embassy.
On the 6th of February 1960, during a visit by Soviet Vice Premier Nicoyan and at the time when the U.S. started it's campaign to isolate Cuba with the intent to impede the start of relations between the two countries, the Cuban catholic church orchestrated a provocation in Parque Central (Central Park). In this provocation headed by the directors of the Group of Catholic Universities (ACU), a director Alberto Quintana, was caught with a caliber 38 revolver, ammunition and 38 flyers with the heading: "Fulgencio Batista president", along with the propaganda of other counterrevolutionary organizations.
These actions were directly supported by the auxiliary bishop of Havana, monsignor Eduardo Boza Vidal, who also acted as a liaison between that organization and the CIA.
In the university of Oriente, the underground organization JUDEC (Democratic Christian Youth) was organized under the direction of Jorge Lincoln Mas Canosa and priest Pascual of Guantanamo. Mas Canosa, later headed the Cuban American National Foundation, and directing the activities of Enrique Ros and his daughter Ileana Ros-Letinen.
The tensions between the church and state grew when the reactionary cleric and it's followers, upon seeing the establishment of relations between the USSR and Cuba, started to reinforce it's campaign against the revolution. The monsignor Enrique Perez Serante, archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, at that time, circulated a pastoral letter which affirmed: "...the camps are drawn between the church and it's enemies....It cannot be said that the enemies are at the door, because in truth they are inside, like in their own throne...For us at all times and in many lands, from Rome to Budapest, it has been better to lose it all, and to spill blood if necessary, than to renounce the liberty, worthy of the sons of God."
At that time, with the aim of condemning communism, dividing the country and impeding the revolutionary process, the anticommunist and anti Soviet campaigns intensified, with the church press issuing editorials such as: "For God and for Cuba", "Neither traitors nor Lowlifes", "Rome or Moscow?", "With Christ or against Christ", "Respect and Justice", to cite a few.
The participation of the cleric in subversive actions against the Revolution was amply denounced by the then leader of the Young Catholic Worker and national coordinator of the Revolutionary Movement of the People, Reynold Gonzalez Gonzalez, who pointed out among others, Jesuit priest Angel Rivas Canepa of Santiago de Cuba; a priest of Camaguey, Reynerio Lebro; a dominical priest Villaverde of Havana; the jesuit priest fernando Alvarez Arango, as leaders and collaborators of counterrevolutionary groups.
This occurred at the same time the U.S. in it's campaign to discredit the Revolution, started a senatorial commission on National Security. On May 3, 1960 senator James Eastland announced that the U.S. senate would pay 35 dollars daily to any who would testify against Cuba.
That same day the committee, asked the criminals of war of the Batista tyranny, General Francisco Tabernilla Dolz, colonel Manuel Ugarde Carrillo, director of military intelligence (SIM, which during Batista murdered and tortured many Cubans), Rafael Diaz Balart (close friends of Batista, president of Youth for Batista and legislator of the congress imposed by the tyrant in his military coup of 1952), along with the priests Eduardo Aguirre, Juan Ramon O'Farrill and Maximiliano Perez, to testify before the commission.
.