Presiding Bishop to Visit Cuba Next Month

Presiding Bishop to Visit Cuba Next Month
12/04/2006

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Canadian Archbishop
Andrew Hutchison will attend the metropolitan council meeting of the
Anglican Church in Cuba next month.

Comprising some 10,000 members spread over 46 parishes, the Diocese of
Cuba ceased to be part of The Episcopal Church amid worsening Cold War
tensions in the 1960s. In recent years, it has been overseen by a
metropolitan council consisting of the Presiding Bishop, the Primate of
Canada, and the Primate of the Church of the Province of the West Indies.

The Jan. 29-Feb. 1 trip remains a "work in progress," the director of
communications for The Episcopal Church, Canon Robert Williams, told The
Living Church. However it "follows on Bishop [Frank] Griswold's promise
that he would encourage his successor to participate" in the life of the
Cuban church.

The 73rd General Convention in 2000 urged the U.S. government "to
restore full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba,"
and the 1998 Lambeth Conference called on the U.S. to end its trade
embargo. In a Feb. 27 sermon at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana, Bishop
Griswold condemned the continued embargo, saying it helped fuel poverty
and caused families to be separated.

Bishop Jefferts Schori's trip comes during a period of change in the
island nation and at a point of opportunity for the Anglican Church to
resume a more active role in Cuban life. In July, Fidel Castro announced
that he was undergoing surgery and transferred his powers to a group of
close confidants led by his brother, Raul. Nearly four months later,
Cuba's aging leader has yet to reassume his duties. In a recent address
to the nation, Raul Castro hinted at a change in Cuban policy,
indicating a willingness to dialogue with the United States on the
condition that it did not interfere in Cuba's internal affairs.

(The Rev.) George Conger

http://www.livingchurch.org/publishertlc/viewarticle.asp?ID=2794