NJ Catholic bishops, faithful unite in prayer for Cubans
New Jersey bishops and priests lead a prayer vigil for the people of Cuba at St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish on Sunday in West New York, N.J. (Steve Hockstein/Archdiocese of Newark)
“The hour has come to say ‘ENOUGH,’ said Bishop Manuel A. Cruz, D.D., a Cuban-American and auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Newark. “Our people, the Cuban people, helpless as they are, are being massacred by the tyranny of the Cuban regime. Today we say ‘enough is enough’ to that genocide.”
Bishop Cruz joined more than a dozen clergy from the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Paterson, along with the Cuban and Latino community, in solidarity for the people of Cuba during a Sunday prayer vigil at St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish in West New York.
The service was for the brothers and sisters of the island of Cuba who continue to go through the trials and tribulations of their nation or, as one of the priests mentioned in his prayer, “for the people who cross their desert” to achieve above all the freedom that Jesus promised.
Read the full transcript of Bishop Cruz’s message in English and Spanish here.
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., archbishop of Newark, presided. Also in attendance were Bishops Gregory J. Studerus and Michael A. Saporito. The bishop of Paterson, Kevin J. Sweeney, was also in attendance.
The Catholic leaders expressed their support for the Cuban people of the island, along with the Cuban diaspora found in the United States. They implored the island’s patron saint, Our Lady of “Caridad del Cobre,” for an end to the suffering and cried for God to “save Cuba of tears and toil.”
Cardinal Tobin dedicated to Cuba the prayer that the Holy Father made that same Sunday and added the story of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Bishop Desmond Tutu of Africa, recalling that the people of that continent, upon receiving the Bible from the hands of her colonizers also received with her the call to freedom.
Bishop Sweeney was emphatic in asking for peace for Cuba, remembering his Irish ancestors and their suffrage. Together with the Cuban priests of his diocese, they prayed for the Cuban people.
Bishop Studerus and Bishop Saporito accompanied with profound messages towards the initiative of their brother, Bishop Cruz, who raised his voice to ask that the suffering of his people stop.
“Our people, the Cuban people, helpless as they are, are being massacred by the tyranny of the Cuban regime,” Bishop Cruz said. “Today, we say ‘enough is enough’ to that genocide. We need to break the silence and be heard. In our hearts, there is a grief that cannot be spoken. There is a pain that goes on and on as we scream for freedom, and freedom does not yet come.”
He ended by reminding his beloved Cubans of the words from Saint John of the Cross: “the soul that walks in love neither tires others nor grows tired.”
