Cuba

Pastor Gude Perez, the leader of an unregistered and fast-growing network of protestant churches, was imprisoned on trumped up charges in 2008. He was released on “conditional liberty” after serving almost three years of six and a half year sentence. He and his wife have consistently and publicly denounced violations of religious freedom committed against their churches.

Margarita A. Mooney writes in Patheos that a major challenge Catholics in Cuba face is reversing damage of Communism.

Pastor Columbie said that while he received support support from the community, local authorities "remained intransigent on both the investigation into the attack and the confiscation of the church vehicle."

Local sources have expressed grave doubts about the impartiality of the investigation into the attack on Pastor Columbie, telling CSW that in order to conduct a credible investigation, the authorities would have to look beyond the civilian population to their own ranks.

Caridad Caballero, a Catholic dissident from Holguin, was arrested along with another woman, Isabel Peña Torrez, on their way to Mass last Sunday morning. Caballero told Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) that the arrest was carried out by a mob of state security agents, male and female, who violently pushed the two women against the car. “We were never told we were under arrest, but were threatened with violence if we did not cooperate.”

Among those being prevented from leaving Holguin City is Caridad Caballero, a member of the Ladies in White, who has been prevented from attending church for 14 weeks

News of their imprisonment came alongside reports that scores of other women across the island, the majority linked to the Ladies in White peaceful dissident group, were similarly prevented from attending Sunday morning mass. Roadblocks were reportedly set up in some cities to prevent members of human rights or pro-democracy groups from accessing churches. 

“The Cuban government holds strict control of all church activities and repression of religious freedom. By law, discrimination against Christians is illegal, yet discrimination and harassment continues as growing churches are often perceived as a threat to regime stability,” the Christian Post reports.

“Pope Benedict wants to help revive religious faith in Cuba when he visits the communist island later this month,” Reuters reports.

“Pastor Reutilio Columbie of the Shalom Christian Centre congregation in the eastern city of Moa was reportedly attacked February 6 while traveling to the capital of Holguin Province to file a complaint against the confiscation of the vehicle.” The Cuban Pentecostal pastor is currently recovering from brain damage, BosNewsLife reports.

Caballero Batista has told CSW that since the beginning of the year, police and state security agents have surrounded their family home each Sunday, preventing them from attending Sunday mass at the Jesus Christ Redeemer Church in the Pueblo Nuevo neighbourhood of Holguin City, located in Eastern Cuba.

Pastor Gude, a national leader in a fast growing network of independent churches called the Apostolic Movement, served almost three years of a six-and-a-half year prison sentence on trumped up charges.

Global Baseball has been going into Cuba for several years. Siegal says, "A famous national team player named Raul Valdez got saved. Now we were going from four house churches to eight, eight to 16, and 16 to 20, and he introduced me to the second-youngest son of Fidel Castro."

Officials warned the family that they could be a target of an “act of repudiation”, government orchestrated mobs often mobilised by officials to intimidate and attack human rights and democracy activists.

Pastor Lleonart Barroso has been subjected to multiple house arrests in the past month, on one occasion for attempting to attend a theological course.

Authorities imprisoned, fined church planter who fought for religious freedom.