Cardinal O’Malley brokered deal for release of Cuban prisoners
January 20, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis entrusted Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the now retired archbishop of Boston, with the task of brokering the deal between the Biden administration and the Cuban Communist regime that led to the release of more than 500 political prisoners.
“The negotiations were conducted over the past three years, with at least a dozen meetings in Havana, New York and Washington, and with the cardinal talking to the foreign ministers and presidents of both countries,” The New York Times reported.
José Daniel Ferrer, a leading Cuban human rights activist who was released from prison, said that “the Cuban government made a mockery of both Biden and the Vatican, which should be taking a firmer stance against human rights violations,” according to the newspaper’s paraphrase of his remarks.
“Does that mean we should have left them [the prisoners] there?” Cardinal O’Malley responded. “I understand Mr. Ferrer has suffered a lot, and is very anxious to see this government fall,” but “making the Cuban people suffer is not the solution.”
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Jan. 20, 2025 11:42 AM ET USA
I am curious to know if there are cardinals in the USCCB who advocate for a lifting of U.S. sanctions against other enemies of U.S. foreign policy, such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, and Palestine. The people in these countries suffer from U.S. sanctions similar to those imposed on Cuba, but the only one who ever consistently suggests relief for their suffering is Pope Francis. If the USCCB is in a position to influence foreign policy, then it could be more vocal about these poor people.
