Cuba's relations with Catholic Church hit a high point after decades of hostility

In this Dec. 1, 2014, a guard walks inside the chapel of the former University of Santo Thomas of Villanueva in Havana, Cuba. Since late 2009, President Raul Castro's government has been quietly returning some church property that was confiscated in the years after the Cuban revolution, including this chapel. The rest of the university property was not returned. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)(The Associated Press)

In this Dec. 1, 2014 photo, graffiti covers a wall next to an altar and debris inside the chapel of the former University of Santo Thomas of Villanueva in Havana, Cuba. The church is planning to restore the building to its former glory, along with more a dozen more churches, parish houses and other buildings, as part of a quiet reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Cuban government that has brought relations to a historic high point this Christmas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)(The Associated Press)

In this Dec. 1, 2014 photo, debris decorated with crosses lays inside a chapel at the former University of Santo Thomas of Villanueva in Havana, Cuba. Since late 2009, President Raul Castro's government has been quietly returning some church property, including this chapel. The church and the Cuban government were in a state of open hostility in the years immediately after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power, a time when some anti-Castro military used churches to store weapons. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)(The Associated Press)

In this Dec. 1, 2014 photo, a damaged statue of Saint Tomas stands outside the chapel of the former University of Santo Thomas of Villanueva in Havana, Cuba. The church is planning to restore the building to its former glory, along with more a dozen more churches, parish houses and other buildings, as part of a quiet reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Cuban government that has brought relations to a historic high point this Christmas. Authorities have also given permission for the construction of the first two new churches in more than five decades. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)(The Associated Press)

In this Dec. 1, 2014 photo, electrical switches hang on a cross inside the chapel at the former University of Santo Thomas of Villanueva in Havana, Cuba. Since late 2009, President Raul Castro's government has been quietly returning some church property that was confiscated by the government, including this chapel. The church and the Cuban government were in a state of open hostility in the years immediately after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power, a time when some anti-Castro military used churches to store weapons. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)(The Associated Press)

HAVANA Golden rays of tropical sunlight slant through the caved-in roof of Saint Thomas de Villanueva chapel, illuminating tiles graced by the faces of saints. Vandals shattered the stained-glass windows and scrawled their names on the thick walls during decades of frigid relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Cuba's communist government.

But a new chain-link fence surrounds the building, protecting it for a future that once seemed unimaginable.

The church is planning to restore the building to its former glory, along with more a dozen more churches, parish houses and other buildings, as part of a quiet reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Cuban government that has brought relations to a historic high point this Christmas. Authorities have also given permission for the construction of the first two new churches in more than five decades.

After years of bridge-building behind closed doors, the Cuba-Vatican rapprochement burst into the headlines last week when the U.S. government credited Pope Francis with helping facilitate the secret reconciliation talks between the U.S. and Cuba. Francis wrote the leaders of both countries to invite them to resolve their differences.

Church officials and experts said the mediation and the renovation and construction of churches were essential parts of a fundamental shift in the dealings between the church and the communist state, which has been hostile toward religion for decades.

View original post here:
Cuba's relations with Catholic Church hit a high point after decades of hostility