• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 11 / 15 / 2010

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MIAMI HERALD. Sun, Nov. 14, 2010. By Archbishop Thomas Wenski. As you know, I travel to Cuba frequently, always to visit and support the Church in Cuba. Last week I was there for the inauguration of the new seminary.

In August of last year, I visited the seminary construction site with Cardinal O'Malley. During that visit, the purpose of which was also to evaluate how the help coming from the United States after the hurricanes was being used, we held a news conference at the Priest House. And at that time a reporter asked me,"What does Cuba need now?"

My response was brief, and I don't think he published it. I answered with only one word: "Hope."

Today's Cuba is marked by a growing uncertainty and a sense of hopelessness. To many, especially the young, hope is defined as "getting out."

The construction of this seminary has been a sign of the hope Cuba needs so badly. The seminary played this role not only in the history of the Church in Cuba, but also in its civic history, for inside its classrooms the Cuban national and religious identity was being forged. And that is what it will do in the future as well.

As Cardinal Ortega said in his speech at the civic ceremony held last Wednesday,"It's the faith in God, or the suspected or certain presence of God in our life's horizon, that guarantees the values in the society, that supports the virtues of human beings in their family and social life, that serves as the foundation of the people's spirituality. It is by looking up that men and women surpass their daily lives and are capable of overcoming crises, of avoiding rancor, of loving and forgiving."

Therefore, he said, referring to the seminary, "this is the fundamental importance of this house."

In Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict wrote: "A world without God is a world without hope." When a society closes its door to the infinite, or the transcendence of the human being, be it by adopting a materialistic ideology (as is the case of Marxism-Leninism) or adopting a practical materialism (as it is increasingly happening in our Western democracies) hope is exiled.

Through it all, the Church, despite its weakened situation and its reduced numbers, has survived. Today the Cuban Church, more than surviving, is fighting to give testimony to hope. And, despite the difficulties and lack of resources,it is bringing in new members and more space to carry out its mission.

The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1998 surely had an enormous positive impact. And in hundreds of parishes throughout the island, in numerous social-aid projects offered by Caritas, Catholics in Cuba can witness that the hope that has a human face ? Jesus Christ ? never deceives.

I quote again from the Cardinal of Havana's speech last Wednesday: "From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and the men and women around us, adults or young, expect nothing more than a word to expose them to deep realities of the spirit."

In summary, the priest and the seminarian, one way or the other, must speak of God to their people. This homily was delivered by the archbishop for South Florida last Sunday after his return from Cuba.

Source: ://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/14/