Aid to the Church in Need: Cuba: Fr Alberto - They have robbed us Cubans of the capacity to dream

Cuba: Fr Alberto - They have robbed us Cubans of the capacity to dream

Posted by Interview on 28/9/2009, 11:21 am
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An interview with Padre Alberto of Cuba with Maria Lozano from Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need

Padre Alberto -- the story of a resistance
“They have robbed us Cubans of the capacity to dream”

Maria Lozano: Padre Alberto, you have just finished writing a book that is about to be published and which will be entitled "The story of a Resistance". Since you are a Cuban, one might think that it was about a political type of resistance, but the book is an account of your vocation. Why this name?

Padre Alberto: Because I resisted God with all my might, but in the end he won me over, because I could no longer keep up my resistance to him, because I had no strength left; but I resisted very hard and it was a very powerful struggle, between my inner emotions and what I could actually hear, the voice of God who was calling me. That is the story of my vocation, the story of a resistance.

Maria Lozano: Why this resistance?

Padre Alberto: Never in my life did I ever think of becoming a priest. I was 18 years old, I had all my plans worked out and organised; I had a girlfriend, I was about to go to university... And then suddenly this happened, in an altogether unexpected way. It ruined all my plans and caused me to rage a great deal. I think rejection is there initially because there is a great deal of fear – a shock like that scares you, and you have to keep going, despite your fears. But once one accepts the calling and says yes to one's vocation, then the fear disappears. Afterwards what remains, more than anything, is the concern about whether "I am doing it properly", but there is no longer this fear.

Maria Lozano: Padre Alfredo, you have been a priest for 12 years. If you had to choose, what would have been the best and which the worst moments during those years?

Padre Alberto: For me the most beautiful moment, generally speaking, is in the confessional. People come to you because they know that there is a gift; not because you are more or less likeable or fit in well, but because there is a gift. One is able to touch people's souls, and this for me is always something very special. Among the many different things I have experienced there was something that touched my heart. I was working in Cuba in a region of immense, immense poverty, where the people toil for hours in the fields and have nothing. When I was transferred to Spain, they came to say goodbye and they said to me, "Look, Father, we have nothing to give you as a present, and so we have brought to these sunflower seeds, so that you can plant them in Madrid and they will brighten up the winter for you". That moved me very deeply.
Among the bad things I experienced the worst was activism, for sometimes we can lose Jesus in trying to do things for Jesus. I turned myself into a working machine. I never stopped – although undoubtedly I dedicated myself to the things of Jesus – the pastoral work, the catechesis, the visits to the sick... But I didn't eat, didn't rest. In the end I was praying less, and the priesthood loses its freshness because you are are losing contact with the source. This is the worst thing that can happen; it burns you from within and you sense that you are drying up.

Maria Lozano: After five years in Europe you are now returning to Cuba. Do you know what is awaiting you?

Padre Alberto: The situation has changed greatly. The last time I was there was three years ago and I noticed a great lack of hope in the people; this is something that worries me.

Maria Lozano: What is the reason for this?

Padre Alberto: This has been going on for a long time now. It is 50 years since people in Cuba have had any freedom, had any options. One of the worst things we can experience is the feeling of impotence, that we can do nothing; and it leads to despair, because you're banging your head against a brick wall. Every place and country has its problems, because here on earth we do not live in Paradise. But in other places you can at least shout out and make plans; you can dream! Whether you succeed or not, you can at least dream. But not in Cuba, no. There is nothing else for it but to survive or to get up and go. You cannot build your inner life or be an active member of society. The Pope told us, "you must be the protagonists of your own history". And this is the key, this is what the Cuban people are lacking.

Maria Lozano: But one can share one's dreams, perhaps? Maybe this is one of the ways in which you can support people when you return...?

Padre Alberto: Yes, dreams can be infectious, if you believe in them and love them; then they are contagious. But you have to cherish them and love them! As for me, I'm brimming over with plans and projects. I would have to live 400 years and I still don't think that would be enough. I love to help and I believe I have the strength. I have great faith in working with young people and I also think that working with and training seminarians is very important. And lastly I want to devote myself to the family apostolate, because in Cuba the family is profoundly dislocated, and this is a major problem in Cuba today.

Maria Lozano: Cuba is already preparing for the great event of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the statue of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, the Patroness of the island. But the Jubilee isn't until 2012, so why such a long period of preparation?

Padre Alberto: Our Lady of Charity has remained the one indisputable element uniting all Cubans. A person can declare himself an atheist, opposed to religion... but Our Lady of Charity is still indisputably his mother. For example, a seminarian once told me how he was visiting a house during a Holy Week mission and they told him, " we are communists and we don't believe in God", and the seminarian replied, "but don't tell me you don't believe in Our Lady of Charity?" And the good fellow answered "Ah well, Our Lady of Charity, that's a different matter". Our Lady of Cobre is the point of reconciliation and encounter for all the Cuban people, for at the present time there are many wounded people, and while other aspects are disputed or rejected, everyone accepts Our Lady and so she is a unique opportunity to work for hope, for brotherhood, the forgiveness of a nation... without her it would be extremely difficult, not to say impossible.

Maria Lozano: How do you see the current situation in your country? There is much talk of change, but at the same time there are many people who tell you that things aren't like that.

Padre Alberto: People have told me that the situation is still worse, because there is no clear perspective. Any kind of change in the current situation signifies a loss of power for the government, and so many people are asking themselves what is going to happen... It is three years now since I was in Cuba, but from what I have heard, the methods of state control have if anything intensified, and people are now more fearful. They are hoping for change, but they don't believe that they themselves can bring about this change, and so until something happens, the general feeling is one of utter impotence.

Maria Lozano: Is there hope?

Padre Alberto: The Cuban is a fighter, a survivor. On a personal level he doesn't give up or give in, he doesn't lose hope. But on the general political and social level, in the sense of looking for a democratic change in the short term, in this sense people are indeed despairing, highly sceptical and weary. That's what I would say – at the personal level there is undoubtedly hope, but at a more general level I think things are much more difficult.

For further information on the work Aid to the Church in Need in Cuba please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org