In response to the proposed restriction of allowing humanitarian aid that would go through the Cuban Council of Churches under the control of the regime, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, general secretary to the World Council of Churches wrote to President Bush, denouncing the proposal as "a gross violation of religious freedom".
Ms. Kitka Klubalova, general secretary of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic agrees with the proposed U.S. policy. In an open letter to Dr. Kobia, she states:
"From our own experiences churches in Central and Eastern Europe are aware of what it means to live under a repressive totalitarian regime of the type, which, in our opinion, exists in Cuba."
"...I am working for Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic which ... was an institution controlled and governed by a communist regime before 1989. Therefore I understand those who have doubts about help to Cuban Christians only through official organisations."
She noted: "As I see it, the flow of non-agriculture and medical help from the US government could possibly cease through the Cuban Council of Churches, but will definitely not stop being provided through other channels...."
Klubalova said her country's biggest Protestant denomination, the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, was developing "contacts with the Cuban opposition and churches that are not members of Cuban Council of Churches because this is believed to be a good way of helping those in need who do not receive support from official institutions".
She said her organization would be willing to host a meeting in the Czech Republic where member churches of the WCC could discuss how to help and support Cuban Christians.
Read the article here, and here. Religión en Revolución tiene el artículo en español.
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