Not only did the government ostracize Paya, but, by his account, Church leadership marginalized him, too.
He told the Italian newspaper La Stampa he was disappointed with the Cuban Catholic hierarchy: “In a country like this, the bishops were never meant to appeal to the forces of oppression and abuse who arrest opponents to resolve a crisis like this.”
To me, Paya compared the Cuban situation to Poland: "John Paul II prohibited the Polish Church from negotiating with the communist regime. This is why Solidarity won, and the Catholic Church remained unscathed."
“Here, the Church sees its role as engaged in dialogue with the Castros. From my perspective, dialogue requires respect for all parties, and as long as they jail us for advocating freedom, Christ himself would refuse to speak,” Paya told me.
The last time I talked to Paya by phone, on his 60th birthday last February, he was praying that the much-anticipated visit of Pope Benedict to Cuba would also mark the occasion of the beginning of “reconciliation” of all Cubans. Unfortunately, most regime opponents were forcibly prevented from attending the papal Mass and ceremonies. Paya’s house was surrounded by security police.
In death, Paya’s achievements were extolled by world leaders, from President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and former Polish President Lech Walesa.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution honoring “the life, liberty and leadership” of Oswaldo Paya. It also called on Cuba to allow an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolence, transmitted through Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega, which captures the pain of these deaths: “The Holy Father… raises fervent prayers to God for the eternal repose of the deceased and asks him to grant consolation and strength to those who, at this sad time, are weeping for their irreparable loss.”
As his coffin, draped with the Cuban flag, was carried into the overflowing El Salvador de Mundo Church for a funeral Mass offered by Archbishop Jaime Ortega, hundreds of people stood and defiantly chanted, “Libertad” — Liberty.
