The Cuban government has accused church leaders of being mercenaries and counter-revolutionaries by not giving their overwhelming support for the new document.
If introduced, the constitution would re-introduce the role of a prime minister, limit the president to two five-year terms, protect private property and establish discrimination laws. State media have largely supported ‘yes’ to adopting it.
Clergy have been less enthusiastic because of a fear that it will weaken the rights to freedom of religion.
Many Church leaders have reported receiving phone calls threatening them with arrest and imprisonment if they do not instruct their congregations to vote ‘yes’ in the vote on 24th February.
On Wednesday, the president of the Western Baptist Convention received a call from the Deputy Head of the Office of Religious Affairs, Sonia García García, who belongs to a wing of the Cuban Communist Party.
She told him:”from now on Carlos Sebastián [the president’s colleague, the General Secretary] will no longer be treated as a pastor, but as a counter-revolutionary.”
After that, General Secretary Rev. Carlos Sebastián Hernández Armas told the religious freedom charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide: “I have total confidence that, even in Cuba, God reigns. Pray for me and my family…my wife and I have spoken and prayed because at any moment they could take me prisoner.”
Meanwhile, a Baptist pastor in Baracoa, Revd Michel García Avilés, has…
… Read More
—
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.