Ecclesial Mass Mobilization - III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959

III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959–1961

2. Ecclesial Mass Mobilization

In the euphoria of the revolutionary process and the mass mobilization of the people that ensued, the year 1959 became the golden age of Catholic lay activism in Cuban civil society. While the time was marked by uncertainty in the course of the revolutionary process, for the Church the first year of the revolution was still a time of relative stability in terms of maintaining activity and public visibility. Some of the activities were in fact resumed after a break: many of the Catholic associations had been forced to suspend their activities during the fight against Batista and the circumstances of ongoing guerilla war.⁴² Thus the establishment of revolutionary rule also represented a time of peace and gave the associations the chance to resume their activities.

In local communities, the revolution did not alter the course of ecclesial life. Through the year 1959, both urban and rural communities in Cuba were able to celebrate the Mass and host their events in regular order: dwelling in the public sphere did not disturb the celebrations fol-lowing the liturgical calendar of the Church—religious practices carried on without disruptions to their continuity despite the changing Cuban landscape.⁴³ The Church pursued continuous activities in urban and rural settings alike: Havana, Pinar del Río, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, San-tiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Artemisa, Ciego de Avila, Holguín, Bayamo, Manzanillo, Sagua la Grande, Sancti Spiritus—in each providence of the country, the Church was present and oper-ating.⁴⁴

Cuban newspapers in their ecclesial calendars suggest that apart from Masses, services organized by and for laypeople were also still part of the Church's public domain in 1959.

Masses of thanksgiving and requiems for the deceased belonged to the laity's daily practices of religion in a similar manner as public manifestations of receiving sacraments, such as the first communion. Likewise, Catholic baptisms, confirmation, ordinations into the ministry, and mat-rimonies were printed in Catholic newspapers as public announcements. Requiems for the de-ceased were organized and announced in newspapers as public events. As an expression of the Church’s public domain, parishes and Catholic associations organized seminars, lectures, and debates on a large scale of theological and ecclesial matters.⁴⁵ The Church also remained a visible actor in civil society, reaching into spheres of professional and civic life through clubs,

42 For instance, AHAH AC JD LH Circular No. 15, Febrero 1959; AHAH AC JN COL Julio Morales Gómes and Esther García Robés to Martha Sowers 8.6.1959; DM 12.4. Acto Lasallista.

43 AHAH AC CD Masculino Consejo Diocesano de la Habana 3/1959: Communiones rotatorias de marzo; AHAH AC CD Masculino Circular #28 por Julio Casteños Villiers 1.6.1959; AHAH AC JN COL Informe del Secretariado de Religión y Piedad 20.7.1959; AHAH AC JN JF Informe a la Junta Nacional, Juventud Femenina Acción Católica; AHAH AC JN COC Informe del Centro de Orientación Cinematográfica de Diciembre 1959;

BLPE Enero-Abril 1961, Misiones Parroquiales: Labor misional de los PP. Paules desde el centro de La Habana en el curso de 1959–1960; DM 8.3.1959 Urbi et Orbi; DM 14.3.1959 Jornada misional sacramentina en Arroyo Apolo; DM 14.3.1959 Cursillo intensivo de Servicio Social; DM 28.9.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

44 For instance, AHAH AC JD M Situación de los consejos diocesanas de Matanzas, julio de 1959; AHAH AC JD M América Penichet to Antonio Bechile 31.7.1959; AHAH AC JM SN Plan de Actividades Julio a Noviembre de 1959.

45 DM 11.3.1959 Misa Mañana por la Sra. Manuela Alonso; DM 13.3.1959 Misa de Réquiem; DM 1.4.1959 Virgen de Loreto; DM 2.4. Reuniones de los viernes en el salón La Milagrosa; DM 2.4. Federación de la Juventud Masculina de Acción Católica Cubana; DM 3.4.1959 En la catedral de Matanzas fue la Boda Aguirre-Ramos; DM 9.4.1959 Coopere al engrandecimiento de Cuba. Ayude a formar mejores cristianos; DM 28.8.1959 Vigilias de la adoración para el próximo mes.

III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959–1961

associations, and recreational groups.⁴⁶ Catholic schools and colleges resumed their work with-out interruptions.⁴⁷ Even new chapels were built and inaugurated.⁴⁸ On television and radio, spiritual programs proceeded without interruptions.⁴⁹

These records, together with the diocesan archival records, show that there was no decrease in attendance and activity of the laypeople regarding Mass and receiving the sacraments.⁵⁰ Photographs on the pages of the newspapers attest to churches with full attendance during Masses and celebrations of an extraordinary nature.⁵¹ Also, social gatherings and association meetings of Catholic groups, family celebrations, and lifespan rituals took place on a regular basis.⁵² Published reports on the events also suggest that, from the urban upper-class laity’s perspective, it was still considered socially acceptable and even desirable to proclaim public affiliation to the Church and demonstrate a personal commitment to and participation in ecclesial activities. Since these examples show that laypeople still participated in the Church in great numbers, they suggest that many of them found it possible to combine the Catholic faith and revolutionary politics. So too in the public sphere, it was possible to express open support for both the Church and the revolution.

While Catholic offices and lay organizations were able to convene regularly for their normal activities, they also placed considerable emphasis on events attempting to influence the revolutionary process and redirect the course of society. Local events grew in scale and reached the point of national recognition. In March 1959, the procession of Good Friday drew a crowd of 15,000 to the streets in the small town of Baracoa, in eastern Cuba, making it the largest religious event in the records of the town.⁵³ In September, Catholics celebrated the annual festivities of the island's patron saint, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. In a country that was in the middle of revolutionary restructuring, entourages from Havana were able to travel across the island to the sanctuary of El Cobre, where the effigy of the Virgin was on display.⁵⁴As the first nationwide devotional celebration of the year, El Cobre's gathering marked a public confession and celebration of faith that was consistent with the celebrations prior to the revolution, yet on a much grander and far-reaching scale—which also served as a wakeup call for the nation.

Acts of commemoration and thanksgiving served to emphasize the support of Catholics for the revolution. Masses and prayers for the souls of the victims of the preceding regime and martyrs of the revolution were organized by both local churches and lay individuals as expressions of approval and participation in the revolution.⁵⁵ In March 1959, thousands of

46 For instance, DM 4.4.1959 Invitación de la JEC.

47 For instance, DM 4.4.1959 Solemne clausura del año centenario.

48 DM 1.4.1959 Inauguración de nueva capilla en Carralillo el día 4; DM 11.4.1959 Nueva capilla a la Virgen de la Merced.

49 AHAH AC JD LH Julio Morales Gómez to Ramiro Sánchez 4.4.1959.

50 For instance, ACOPR 1961.

51 For instance, DM 14.4.1959 Homenaje Eucarístico a Monsenor Alfredo Muller.

52 AHAH AC JF CDA XIV Asamblea y X Concentración Diocesana de Aspirantes 9.5.1959; AHAH AC CD Masculino Circular #28 por Julio Casteños Villiers 1.6.1959; DM 8.3.1959 En honor de la Patrona de la A. Vasco–

Navarro.

53 DM 1.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

54 AHAH AC JD LH Circular No. 22 Septiembre de 1959; DM 27.8.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

55 For instance, BLPE Enero 1959, Num.1 Acción Católica Cubana Junta Nacional; Oración por los difuntos 21.7.1959; DM 11.3.1959 Urbi et Orbi; DM 13.3.1959 Urbi et Orbi; DM 13.3. Honras fúnebres; DM 3.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959–1961

Catholic students in Havana gathered to celebrate and commemorate the leaders of young Catholics who had participated in the revolutionary struggle, such as José Antonio Echeverría⁵⁶.

“It is necessary that us Catholics come together, not to be separated from anyone, but to integrate into the revolutionary process,” declared a former lay leader of Catholic Action’s section for young men during the event.⁵⁷ Havana’s newly appointed auxiliary bishop, Evelio Díaz Cía, also delivered a service for the souls of all members of Juventud Católica, the association for young Catholic laity, who had fallen in combat during the revolution. The fallen leaders were honored on the same occasion as their remains were moved to their respective location by delegations of clergy and lay members of Catholic Action.⁵⁸

In the town of Cárdenas, a similar event of commemoration was organized as a Mass and a pilgrimage to Echeverría’s gravesite on the anniversary of his death. The Holy See’s apostolic nuncio to Cuba, Luis Centoz, presided at the service. The local bishop, Alberto Martín Villaverde, participated in the event as one among many notable revolutionary leaders, army officials, and representatives of the revolutionary government. They were also joined by Prime Minister Fidel Castro in the course of the celebration.⁵⁹ On this occasion, the spirit of martyrdom—recognized in Christian and revolutionary tradition alike—the sense of fulfilling the revolution’s early promises, and Catholicism all seemed to coexist and correspond to the same commemoration. “This religious event recalls, honors, and glorifies those who gave the Cuban flag the magnificent color of their blood,” preached Martín Villaverde in his homily.⁶⁰

In an event of similar nature, teachers at one of Havana’s Catholic private schools honored the memory of the teachers who had fought in the revolutionary struggle.⁶¹ In Havana, the local council of Catholic Action for the parish of San Judas y San Nicolás organized a procession with the intention of giving thanks for the newly-gained liberty and offering prayers for the consolidation of peace in Cuba.⁶² In April, a group of revolutionaries gave an offering in a requiem for the deceased young revolutionaries to mark the anniversary of an attack on Mercaderes Street, in Havana. The service was organized in the local church located near the site of the accident.⁶³

Paying direct intention to the future of the revolutionary process, mostly in the capital city of Havana, lay organizations facilitated discourse on Catholicism in the revolution.⁶⁴

56 José Antonio Echeverría was the leader of Directorio Revolucionario, an anti-Batista organization founded in 1955 by the members of the Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios, that formed a coalition with Fidel Castro’s M-26-7 in 1956. Echeverría was killed in an attack on the presidential palace in Havana in 1957. As a lay Catholic leader, Echeverría has represented Catholic martyrdom in the revolutionary insurrection. According to Holbrook, Echeverría’s death ultimately “deprived the revolution of a Catholic alternative.” Orozco & Bolívar 1998, 336–

338; Torres 2001, 47, De La Torre 2002, 96; Holbrook 2009.

57 Es necesario que los católicos nos reunamos, no para separarnos de nadie, sino para integrarnos mejor en el proceso revolucionario. DM 8.3.1959 Gran concentración católica celebraron jóvenes estudiantes; DM 14.3.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

58 DM 9.4.1959 El acto de hoy; DM 10.4.1959 Misa en la Catedral por federaros inmolados.

59 DM 14.3.1959 Rinden en Cárdenas hermoso tributo en honor de Echeverría; DM 14.3.1959 Misa por el alma de José Antonio Echeverría.

60 Este acto religioso es para recordar, honrar y glorificar a los que le dieron a la Bandera de Cuba el color hermoso de su sangre. DM 14.3.1959 Rinden en Cárdenas hermoso tributo en honor de Echeverría.

61 DM 10.3.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

62 DM 10.3.1959 La procesión del domingo.

63 DM 3.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

64 DM 28.8.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959–1961

Members of Agrupación Católica Universitaria, an association for Catholic university students, broadcasted on television a show focusing on the Catholic contribution to the revolutionary process.⁶⁵ The group also directed its attention to exploring the anticipated Agrarian Reform Law and its consequences for the country.⁶⁶ By organizing a public discussion under the theme

“Communism for what purpose?” the students addressed the suspicion of communist influence on the revolution.⁶⁷ Another group of Catholic students, Juvenil Estudiantil Católica, announced a desire to organize their first national meeting in Havana in September 1959. When calling for delegates from each province and diocese to participate in the event, they highlighted its significance for both “the Church and the fatherland.” According to announcements on the meeting, the congress was expected to define the Catholic youth's stand on matters acute for the country.⁶⁸

The Cuban representatives of the Piarist Order⁶⁹ organized a series of talks and discussions to explore the dimensions and consequences of the Agrarian Reform Law. Held at the college of the order, the talks were directed at the students of the school, as per request of their parents, and aimed at increasing the students’ support of the reform.⁷⁰ In another Catholic college in Havana, Carmelo y Praga directed by the Carmelites,⁷¹ the youth group of Catholic Action organized The Week of Social Studies. The events, intended for men only, included lectures on topics such as the Catholic Church and social justice, liberalism, socialism and communism, and the voice of the Popes vis-á-vis the problematics.⁷² The national council of Catholic Action also announced that it had produced statements on the themes of human dignity and social order.⁷³ In the same fashion, Caballeros Católicos de Cuba offered an event focusing on the interpretation of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum, which was already in 1959 considered a pioneering papal document on Catholic social doctrine.⁷⁴

It was the Catholic Church’s general understanding that the course of events in Cuba required constant vigilance and participation from all Catholics—and from a Catholic perspective, it was both a duty and a responsibility to engage in social discourse and public life as Catholics.⁷⁵ Clergy and religious orders in Havana addressed numerous matters of social justice in, for instance, an exclusive workshop on Agrarian issues. Apart from the anticipated Agrarian Reform Law, the workshop discussed cooperation, technology, and the mission of the clergy in promoting social justice.⁷⁶ The National Council of Catholic Action launched a project to intensify lay Catholics’ participation in projects of social justice, to engage in the life of communities at the grassroots level.⁷⁷ Joining the intensifying movements of Catholics in the revolutionary moment was the transcending spiritual presence of the island’s patron saint: in

65 DM 8.3.1959 Sacerdotes cubanos al programa de la ACU en televisión.

66 DM 4.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

67 DM 10.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi; DM 14.4.1959 Acto en La Milagrosa.

68 DM 27.8.1959 Noticias de la JEC.

69 The official name of the order is the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools.

70 DM 10.4.1959 Los PP. Escolapios divulgarán ventaja de la Reforma Agraria.

71 The official name of the order is the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.

72 DM 12.4.1959 Semana de Estudios Sociales en la Parroquia del Carmen; DM 14.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

73 AHAH AC JN M Mensaje de la presidenta 8/1959.

74 DM 12.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

75 For instance, AHAH AC JN M Consejo Nacional Julio de 1959.

76 DM 14.4.1959 Urbi et Orbi.

77 AHAH AC CN JF Plan Misional y de Educación Fundamental 15.2.1959.

III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959–1961

September 1959, the festivity of La Virgen de la Caridad was expected to be celebrated nationwide with particular intensity and devotion.⁷⁸

What the activities of Catholic movements and groups demonstrated was the willing agency of Catholic adults. Not just young adults participated in the movements; working-age and middle-aged Catholics joined the public discourse as well. Although the organizations hosted sub-groups for both men and women, the voices coming through and addressing the course of the revolution were predominantly male. In a revolution strongly orchestrated by young men,⁷⁹ the space of discourse was consequently open particularly to groups of young Catholic laymen. Similarly, among ordained ministry it was naturally the voices of men that echoed within the Church as the voices of authority: while representatives of the ecclesial hierarchy had already reached a mature age, the voices of young and middle-aged clergy also assumed prominence, particularly in Havana’s urban parishes.

Religious women were not present at the tables of debate and public discourses on the revolutionary ideology. Archival sources portray women within the Church as being in service of spirituality and expressing religiosity in domestic spheres: catechesis, matrimonial and family counseling, visiting the sick, and acts of contemplation and meditation were reserved for laywomen.⁸⁰ While the ideal of Catholic womanhood was to serve as an “example of discipline and sacrifice,”⁸¹ public political debates were a domain reserved for men—

particularly young adults portrayed with a robust youthful energy and determination. Through such various activities, the publicly manifested Catholic interpretation of the revolution came to represent the voice of the Church as predominantly masculine.

The aim of these voices, which emerged from all national Catholic organizations in 1959, was clearly to demonstrate Catholic participation in the transition of Cuba’s political and social spheres. Yet the voices from within the Church were not straightforwardly unanimous: they were nuanced in their approach and commitment to the revolution, and they offered competing visions of how the role of the Church in the new Cuba should evolve. The discourse also offered greater visibility for the Church and increasing its impact, causing the majority of laypeople to acknowledge the importance of Catholicism and its influence on the course of events—although the forms of acknowledgement did not always occur in a positive sense, contrary to the clergy’s expectations.

Since the events were planned as collective experiences to bring together great numbers of Catholics, they were directed at the laity in particular, calling them to commit themselves to the Church and its teachings both personally and publicly. It was the beginning of a movement that would call Catholics to pledge their allegiance to the Church instead of to the revolution.

Ultimately, the urge to organize public demonstrations of Catholic faith and commitment was an answer to the call demanding the Church to be present where the future of the homeland was to be defined.

78 AHAH AC JN M Mensaje de la presidenta 8/1959.

79 Pérez 2015a, 246–247.

80 For instance, AHAH AC JN JF Centro de dirigentes diocesanas 1959; AHAH AC CN M Informe a la Junta Nacional de Acción Católica Cubana 1959; AHAH AC JD LH Junta Diocesana de Acción Católica de La Habana:

Secretariado de Ejercicios Espirituales; AHAH AC JN M Informe a la Junta Nacional Julio de 1959; AHAH AC JN M Mensaje de la presidenta 8/1959.

81 AHAH AC JN M Mensaje de la presidenta 8/1959.

III THE TIME OF CONTESTATION: 1959–1961

The social consciousness of the Cuban Church gained new strength as the first laws were passed under the new revolutionary regime. The restructuring of Cuban society and the economy began with the Agrarian Reform Law in early 1959, followed by waves of nationalization of property, education, and healthcare, and it concluded with the seizure of the free press and media in the radicalization of the revolution by 1961.⁸² Following this development, the Church moved from support to a position of caution, and it grew increasingly critical⁸³ of the suspected communist influences on the revolutionary process.

Previous scholarly work has approached the tension in Church–State relations regarding the legislative process of the revolution predominantly from the perspective of the place of the institutional church in Cuba’s social, political, and economic structures.⁸⁴ The theological and ecclesiological foundations, responses, and implications of the changing landscape of Cuban

In document Never a Church of Silence : The Catholic Church in Revolutionary Cuba, 1959-1986 (sivua 88-99)