Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Havana (Agenzia Fides) - He agrees to be called "a man of dialogue" but not "a diplomatic". "Dialogue - he says - is the new name of love". This is what the only Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, Archbishop of San Cristobal de la Habana since 1981 says in a long interview published by "Palabra Nueva", the magazine of the Archdiocese of Havana, sent to Agenzia Fides. The Cardinal is well-liked by many and misunderstood by others, but he is always presented as "the pastor" which he has never ceased to be, as he says himself.
Protagonist behind the scenes of the turning point on the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, Cardinal Ortega has always proposed a "culture of encounter" to Cuba, with interesting results, such as the release of prisoners, the opening of new spaces for social presence, greater individual freedoms, and some change in the programs of democratic institutions.
The long interview ends with this statement: "In me what survives is the fact of being a pastor, there is nothing more interesting than being a pastor". (CE) (Agenzia Fides 26/03/2015)
