Cuba will free 553 prisoners convicted of various crimes as a gesture of goodwill ahead of the 2025 Jubilee Year. The decision, communicated to Pope Francis, was made in the spirit of the Jubilee and reflects the close relationship between Cuba and the Vatican. The move coincides with the US announcement to lift Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, a deal facilitated by the Church. The prisoners are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
The Cuba n government has announced a decision to release 553 prisoners in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 declared by His Holiness Pope Francis. Cuba has announced that it will release 553 people convicted of various crimes. The decision was communicated to Pope Francis earlier this month in a letter from Cuba n president Miguel Díaz-Canel, who indicated that the release of prisoners was made in the spirit of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025.
A statement from Cuba’s foreign ministry notes that the prisoner release takes place in the context of the “close and fluid relations with the Vatican State” and outlines contacts between the country and the Vatican over the course of the past few years. The statement notes in particular the meeting between Pope Francis and President Díaz-Canel in August 2022, in which the plight of prisoners, as well as US policy toward Cuba, was discussed. Cuba’s statement came after an announcement by the White House that President Joe Biden has notified Congress of his intent to lift the US designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of a deal facilitated by the Church. The prisoners are expected to be released in the coming days and weeks, with some being granted their freedom before Biden’s term ends on January 20. Cuba’s statement on Tuesday said the country maintains “a respectful, frank, and constructive relationship with the Vatican and the Supreme Pontiff, which facilitates decisions such as the one recently taken.”In his Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis proposed that “governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programmes of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law.” Prisoner releases have also marked previous relations between Cuba and the Vatican. In 1998, when St John Paul II visited the island nation, Fidel Castro released around 200 people. Thousands of prisoners were granted their freedom on the eve of Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, and about 3,500 more ahead of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey in 2015. In December 2014, diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana were restored, with then-US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raúl Castro thanking Pope Francis for his contribution in reaching the agreement.
CUBA PRISONERS RELEASE VATICAN POPE FRANCIS JUBILEE YEAR US TERRORISM RELATIONS
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