Vatican City, May 17 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban ambassador to the Holy See, Leyde Rodríguez, highlighted today that the recent Holy Mass in the Vatican for the peace and development of his country demonstrated the positive bilateral ties.
Regarding the liturgical celebration that took place on the night of May 15 at the Roman Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the diplomat told Prensa Latina that “we consider it an act of solidarity with the Cuban people in the difficult humanitarian conditions they face,” following an escalation of the aggressive policy of the United States.
Rodríguez noted that at the Holy Mass for Peace and Development in Cuba, officiated by Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the current context of threat against the territorial integrity of the island was denounced, given the aggressive nature of American imperialism.
“The Vatican has expressed its concern about the situation in Cuba and maintains a tradition of condemning the genocidal economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against the island, aggravated after the signing by President Donald Trump of the executive orders of January 29 and May 1 of this year,” he stressed.
Cardinal Czerny emphasized in his homily the Vatican’s position in favor of “a disarmed and disarming peace,” which enables development, and that is why this mass had that name, for peace and for development in Cuba, which has always been the objective of our social project,” he noted.
The call of Pope Leo XIV was recalled, that “all international controversies and conflicts should be resolved peacefully, through negotiation and diplomacy, and not through the use of force, and that peace should be the result of dialogue, not wars,” he asserted.
The Holy See, he said, “has been very clear, both in the messages of the Supreme Pontiff and in statements by the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin,” in pointing out that “it is Cuba that must resolve its problems among Cubans” while “it has opposed the use of force,” supporting dialogue and negotiation.
The ambassador stressed that “this first Holy Mass that has been organized reflects the positive diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Vatican, which will celebrate their 91st anniversary on June 7th, characterized by respect, mutual recognition, ethical and responsible diplomacy, with a constructive, frank and direct dialogue.”
“We agree on many issues on the current international agenda, such as respect for world peace, rejection of violence, preventive attacks, the use of force in conflict resolution, terrorism, as well as the need to eradicate poverty in the world.”
Both parties maintain a high level of concern for the preservation of the environment, the fight against climate change and its consequences, an issue that is precisely addressed by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Furthermore, “it is necessary to highlight the importance that both the Holy See and Cuba attach to multilateralism, to the existence of a world order based on international law,” the Cuban ambassador added in his statements to this news agency.
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