Disconcerting! – Folha de S. Paulo, April 30, 1969

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Two news stories in the same newspaper caught my attention nearly simultaneously.

Initial reports suggest that Paraguay’s episcopate is in open conflict with the government. It appears that a clash between spiritual and secular authorities is looming, potentially the most significant in the country’s history. A key cause of the crisis seems to be the unbearable mistreatment of political prisoners. The clergy have already expressed their protests. Archbishop Aníbal Porta issued an open letter to the head of state, condemning “the inhumane conditions prevailing in prisons.”

The news naturally sparks sympathy, aligning with the Church’s role of defending the underprivileged. This noble act has nothing to do with leftism, and its nobility soothes the heart, which is often hurt by the many disappointments of our troubled religious life.

However, a doubt crossed my mind as I remembered that the Paraguayan government often detains communist agitators. Aren’t these political prisoners, whom the bishops of Paraguay are so concerned about, mostly communists? Doubts and objections began to fill my mind. For example, wouldn’t it be basic justice for the episcopate, when criticizing the government for mistreating communists, to also praise Marshal Alfredo Stroessner’s firmness in suppressing communist plots in his country?

I can already see someone angrily objecting: never, it is an aberration to praise the Paraguayan head of government in any way; he is a fascist!

I do not know Marshal Stroessner and am unfamiliar with his actions. Let’s assume he really is a fascist. Does that excuse the Paraguayan bishops’ silence? So, they show mercy to communists but not even justice for a fascist? Isn’t this troubling?

How happy I would be if, in some future publication, the bishops of Paraguay addressed this contradiction by including, alongside their plea for mercy, heartfelt words supporting the government’s vigilance and firmness in fighting communism! Still, I admit my hopes in this area are slim.

* * *

I have many reasons to feel discouraged. One is specifically mentioned in another news story that caught my attention. The Cuban episcopate has a collective pastoral letter ready to be read in all churches, strongly protesting against the blockade that the United States has imposed around the island.

Since it is well known that Fidel Castro’s government uses Cuban territory as a Soviet and Chinese base for exporting subversive ideas and guerrilla fighters throughout the Americas, I see Cuba’s blockade as a fair and necessary measure to defend our continent. Therefore, the Cuban bishops’ attitude seems to be exactly the opposite of what it should be. If anything in this matter could still surprise me, I would say this is surprising.

However, I prefer not to focus on this point. As everyone knows, Fidel Castro has turned La Cabaña prison into one of the most brutal places of our era. There, those who oppose communism are detained, mistreated, and killed. In a sense, all of Cuba has become La Cabaña—a giant prison where Cubans of both genders, who haven’t been executed at the firing wall or escaped abroad, face all kinds of abuse, forced labor on state farms, and more. If the bishops of Paraguay are so eager to protect communist prisoners, why are the Cuban bishops so indifferent in defending the victims of communist oppression?

I am not only asking why the planned pastoral letter—which must have been published on Sunday—does not contain, at least as far as I can see, a single word of sympathy for the victims of Fidel Castro. My question goes deeper. The Cuban bishops know very well that by calling for the lifting of the American blockade, they are helping to strengthen Fidel Castro’s government. That is, for the executioner to stay in power. Once again, I ask: do they not feel compassion for their fellow citizens?

Do these prelates perhaps imagine that such attitudes will bring communists closer to the Church? If so, they are showing a disconcerting lack of judgment. While they set about shepherding wolves as if they were sheep, they are rapidly losing their influence over their true sheep, the faithful Catholics, who are increasingly shocked by such reprehensible attitudes.

Seeing such disorientation during such a serious time, I wonder how a truly Catholic historian will reflect on these events a hundred years from now.