Cuban Police Remove Dissidents From Havana Church

Last updated on: March 15, 2012 at 3:23 pm by

Cuban Police Remove Dissidents From Havana Church 2012-03-15T15:23:09-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban police evicted 13 dissidents from a Havana church they had been occupying for two days demanding that Pope Benedict XVI air a list of grievances during his upcoming trip to the island, a Roman Catholic Church spokesman said.

The protesters were removed from the Church of Charity in densely packed Central Havana late Thursday at the request of the city’s cardinal, church spokesman Orlando Marquez said in a statement.

“Cardinal Jaime Ortega addressed the competent authorities to invite the occupiers to abandon the sanctuary,” the statement said.

The dissidents were removed without resistance, it added.

“The agents who carried out the operation had assured the Church they would be unarmed, that they would initially take the 13 persons to a police station and then to their homes. It also said they would be processed,” Marquez said.

The dissidents initially occupied the church to demand an audience with Pope Benedict XVI when he visits Cuba this month. They later changed their demand and said they wanted the pontiff to mediate a list of their grievances with the Cuban government.

They had been in the church since Tuesday.

Previous Post

March 15, 2012

Ambitious Vatican Restoration Moves Ahead

Next Post

March 15, 2012 Ohio Man Pleads Guilty In $17M Amish Fraud Case

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category

Select a Month April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who built the first temple in Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

David Solomon Joshua Moses