Bishop exhorts Catholics in Cuba to bear witness to their faith

Havana, Cuba, Jun 15, 2005 / 22:00 pm

During his installation Mass as the new ordinary for the Diocese of Matanza in Cuba, Bishop Manuel Hilario de Cespedes said, “The entire Church is called to proclaim the Kingdom of God,” and he exhorted the faithful to be a sign of the presence of the Kingdom in a secularized world.

In his homily, Bishop Hilario called on the laity bear witness to the faith “in the different spheres of society,” especially in the family.  He said that in a secularized world, there is a need for Catholics who “do not tire of teaching the faith of the Church, which is the fount from which many good men and women of our country have drunk.”

“Together we are called to proclaim that Christ gives meaning to our history,” Bishop Hilario continued, “although at times we may feel we are sinking in the turbulent waters” and yet knowing that the Lord brings history “to its complete fulfillment.”

The new bishop made a special appeal for help to the young.  “I need your closeness, your concerns, your noble ideas,” he said, adding that he hopes the Church in Matanza will “continue speaking words of hope to her young friends.”

He also praised the work of religious sisters with the poor and offered words of encouragement to seminarians, “the future of the priesthood.”