I've been a TV news buff most of my adult life . . . CNN, 60 Minutes, Cronkite, Brinkley, Jennings . . . and all the rest of it. But, since late January 1998, I've preferred Lonesome Dove, Walker Texas Ranger, In the Heat of the Night, Diagnosis Murder, and movies as old as I am, over the fare of of my favorite news networks and anchors.
I will NEVER respect or forgive the terrible bad judgements made by virtually all the giants of the U.S. television networks during the January 1998 visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba. They trashed months of preparation for in-depth coverage of life in Cuba during that historic five days in favor of impulsively giving top billing to some rumors about possible indiscretions by U.S. President Clinton. Sure, there was/is some story there, but that disgusting abandonment of perspective by U.S. television during those five days has left me most disenchanted and embarrassed for the people of Cuba and for those reporters whose fine efforts were pushed to backburners because of simple, cynical greed.
Fortunately, even though the potential magic of those January days was undermined by bad boardroom decisions, this internet and other technologies have preserved much of what happened in Cuba so we can still see, hear and read about in depth many important moments and encounters.
The single most important and do-able outreach to our Cuban sisters and brothers possible to U.S. Catholics is to apply unrelenting pressure on Congress to eliminate ALL embargo measures and sanctions and to re-establish full diplomatic relations with the sovereign Republic of Cuba. Unlike the grinding poverty in Africa and other regions fo the world, the situation of the Cuban people needs our political courage and activism more than our dollars.
What if every U.S. Catholic parish organized all its members to really and creatively put the heat on Congressional representatives, Senators, and the White House about this issue? Our Cuban neighbors are a proud nation with a history and culture older and deeper than our own. They are a people who deserve normal international relations and, frankly, basic respect. President Fidel Castro should be at least as welcome at the White House as leaders of China, Palestine and other global tension spots who indeed have visited there. And, you and I should be free to walk the streets and visit the churches of Havana, the original Archdiocese for much of what is now the the United States of America. Make an informed decision personally or as a parish community and communicate it effectively to the government of the United States!
There is one website which especially seems to be the real gateway to learning more about Cuba from any perspective imagineable, from the official Cuban press, to international news organizations, to the various exile groups and Catholic groups. Rather than fill this page with links, I suggest that you go to CUBANET's home page illustrated below and really browse the offerings in your choice of English or Spanish language.
MAPS: The following links take a while to open:
Detail Map of Cuba
Detail Map of Guantanamo Bay
