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 Cardinal Jaime Ortega has won respect for gaining reforms in Cuba, but he still has his critics, who say he hasn't done enough.
March 27th, 2012
12:59 PM ET
Once in a Castro labor camp, now Cuba's cardinalBy David Ariosto, CNN Havana, Cuba (CNN) - Not long after Fidel Castro and his bearded band of guerilla fighters rolled into Havana in 1959, conditions appeared so dire for the island’s Catholic clergymen that their cardinal fled to Argentina’s Embassy seeking political asylum. Manuel Arteaga died in 1963 from illness while still in Cuba, and for more than three decades the island would officially remain an atheist state. Castro’s communist revolution endeavored to rid the country of its religious influence, confiscating church property and expelling or oppressing religious workers. A young priest named Jaime Ortega, who would one day become the nation’s cardinal, was among them. In 1966, the Cuban government sent him to a military work camp for several months. Today, the 75-year-old cardinal heads the island’s Roman Catholic Church, thrust into the spotlight perhaps more than ever with Pope Benedict XVI's visit this week to Cuba.
March 27th, 2012
10:45 AM ET
The pope, political prisoners and Cuba(CNN)–Pope Benedict XVI visits Cuba following the Vatican-brokered release of political prisoners. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports.  Alan Gross with his wife Judy Gross.
March 27th, 2012
08:35 AM ET
Papal visit to Cuba spurs talk of jailed U.S. contractorBy David Ariosto, CNN Havana, Cuba (CNN) - Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Cuba this week, forging inroads with the Castro government and ultimately helping to bring about the release of a jailed American contractor. At least, that's how Judy Gross would like to see this week's papal visit play out. "I hope it's very likely," she told CNN's Erin Burnett on Friday. Her husband, Alan Gross, is in prison outside the Cuban capital on subversion charges. He was arrested on December 3, 2009, for distributing what officials described as sensitive communications equipment to the island's small Jewish community.
March 26th, 2012
09:52 AM ET
Pope heads to Cuba after Mexico visitBy David Ariosto, CNN Havana, Cuba (CNN) - Pope Benedict heads to Cuba on Monday on the second leg of a tour he's using not just to spread the faith but to address political issues. Benedict will arrive at the island nation from Mexico, where he denounced drug wars and violence Friday in a visit scheduled just months ahead of its presidential elections. He also blasted Cuba's Marxist political system, saying it "no longer corresponds to reality." The pope's comments, delivered to reporters aboard a flight from Rome to Mexico, sparked speculation over what he will say once he addresses the Cuban people directly. Read the full story on Pope Benedict's trip to Cuba A poster of Pope Benedict XVI in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolucion, where he will celebrate Mass amid icons of Cuban communism.
March 24th, 2012
10:00 PM ET
Rolling out welcome mat for pope, Cuba continues complex relationship with Catholic ChurchBy Patrick Oppmann, CNN Santiago, Cuba (CNN) - Facing the stage where Pope Benedict XVI will deliver his first Mass in Cuba during his visit here this week is a giant neon billboard of a young and victorious Fidel Castro brandishing a rifle. It would appear to be a poor omen for the pope’s visit, if not for the message printed beside the Cuban leader: “Rebels yesterday, hospitable today, always heroic.” It’s the slogan for Santiago de Cuba, the first stop on the pope’s three-day trip to the island nation. The freshly erected sign offers insight into the changing, often hard to read, relationship between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church.
January 30th, 2012
01:30 PM ET
Islam doesn't justify 'honor murders,' experts insistBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN (CNN) - Zainab Shafia's crime was to run off to marry a man her parents hated. Middle sister Sahar's crime was to wear revealing clothes and have secret boyfriends. Youngest sister Geeti's crime was to do badly in school and call social workers for help dealing with a family home in turmoil. The punishment for all three teenage Canadian sisters was the same: death. Their executioner: their brother, acting on instructions from the father to run their car off the road. Another family member, their father's first wife in a polygamous marriage, was also killed. Hamed Shafia, his father, Mohammed, and his mother, Tooba Mohammed Yahya, were sentenced to life in prison for murder, with Judge Robert Maranger excoriating their "twisted notion of honor, a notion of honor that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honor that has absolutely no place in any civilized society." Leading Muslim thinkers wholeheartedly endorsed the Canadian judge's verdict, insisting that "honor murders" had no place and no support in Islam.
January 26th, 2012
01:22 PM ET
December 22nd, 2011
11:45 AM ET
Honduras nativity scene depicts violence(CNN)–A Latin American nativity scene is drawing double-takes for displaying violence. Along side the depictions of the birth of baby Jesus are the death of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and terrorist Osama bin Laden. CNN's Guillermo Arduino reports.  A controversial nativity scene features Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
December 20th, 2011
02:53 PM ET
Politicized nativity scene stirs controversy in VenezuelaFrom Osmary Hernandez, for CNN (CNN) - As far as Christmas traditions go, nativity scenes are generally quite similar, though local customs often find their way into such montages. But one nativity scene in Venezuela has sparked controversy for what critics say overstepped the lines of taste, religion and politics. The display in question is located inside the concourse of a group of residential and business towers in Caracas, placed there by employees of the country's ministry for women.
October 28th, 2011
10:00 PM ET
Predators in plain sight: Priests accused of child abuse appear beyond the reach of lawEditor’s note: Gary Tuchman reports on allegedly abusive Catholic priests who are living, unsuspected, in communities across the country on CNN Presents, Saturday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on CNN. By Gary Tuchman and Jessi Joseph, CNN Los Angeles (CNN) - Former LAPD Detective Federico Sicard still remembers the Monday he arrived at a school to interview children who said a priest had molested them, even though the visit took place 23 years ago. Sicard found four children at the school, Our Lady of Guadalupe in East L.A., who said they’d been abused by Nicolas Aguilar Rivera, a priest who’d recently arrived from Mexico. But police never had a chance to interview Aguilar. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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