Cuban Priest Lester Zayas: "They consider my homilies dangerous"

"It is impossible to be a priest in Cuba without saying what is happening here, but of course, this brings many conflicts", said the religious in an interview to BBC Mundo.

The priest stressed that what he says "in the homilies is that it is not possible to see the reality here and accept as normal the suffering of the people, that evil will not always win, that the night will not be eternal, that we have to think as a people what we can do to hasten the dawn, that what we have done to reach these levels, that we have lost the north (...) Cuba is dying".

"Responding to these clamors of the people means looking for problems, difficulties, because you know that when you raise your voice in favor of the people you will have an insurmountable wall that will try to silence you by various means," he said.

The priest denounced pressures exerted by the regime through the Catholic Church for him to leave the country.

"They ask them to order me to be quiet or to scold me, or even at some point suggesting them to take me out of the country (...) They also intimidate my superiors about the dangers I can run, although I know I do not run any because I am aware of the laws of my country and I know how far I can go not to go against any of the laws or the Constitution", he concluded.

Zayas recalled that, last March, during Holy Week, the regime did not approve the procession of the Holy Burial which he had requested in time.

On that occasion, the refusal came in relation to the priest of the church, the religious institution indicated in a statement on social networks.

"I regret the inconvenience that this refusal may bring and the displeasure it may cause in the people. Likewise, I regret that the religious freedom of a portion of the people of God is mistreated, for things that could be dealt with in a frank and serene dialogue," the pastor said at the time.

To Father Zayas, the people of the community tell him their problems, especially those related to the lack of food and medicines.

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