wfn.org | BWNS -- Cuban officials attend gathering at Baha'i center

[Bahá'í World News Service <bwns@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
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Cuban officials attend gathering at Baha'i center
HAVANA, Cuba, 13 June 2005 (BWNS) -- Senior government officials and
representatives of diverse religious groups in Cuba gathered with
Baha'is for an inter-religious event in the newly reconstructed Baha'i
center in central Havana last month.

Caridad Diego Bello, the chief of religious affairs in the Cuban
government, and two other officials from her office joined Baha'is and
representatives from Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and African Yoruba
religious communities at the gathering, which was held on 23 May 2005.

Ms. Diego expressed her gratitude to the Baha'i community of Cuba for
bringing together the diverse group, and then spoke about the major
social principles of the Baha'i Faith and on the theme of
inter-religious harmony.

"These are principles that even I as a non-follower of any religion
would agree with," said Ms. Diego, who is a member of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.

Among the social principles of the Baha'i Faith are the equality of
women and men, racial equality, and the abolition of extremes of wealth
and poverty.

The inter-religious event was the second major gathering held this year
in the Baha'i center, which was acquired by the Baha'i community in 1956
but which recently required complete re-building.

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Cuba hosted
Ms. Diego and her staff on a tour of the center.

The secretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Havana,
Ernesto Santirso, welcomed all the guests and explained that the purpose
of the gathering was to open the center to other religious communities.

Mr. Santirso read extracts from the 2002 message by the Universal House
of Justice to the world's religious leaders in which the Baha'i
governing council supported inter-faith dialogue and called upon those
involved to address the implications of "the over-arching truth that God
is one and that, beyond all diversity of cultural expression and human
interpretation, religion is likewise one." (Full text available at:
http://www.bahai.org/article-1-1-0-1.html)

After Baha'i speakers read quotations from Baha'u'llah on religious
harmony, the representative of the Jewish community, Jose Miller,
addressed the gathering.

"Salvation comes from deeds and not from beliefs alone," Dr. Miller
said.

"We should have deeds that will improve the condition of the world today
and bring peace to our society."

A representative of the Institute for Bible and Theological Studies said
the three Baha'is currently studying Christian theology with the
Institute were an important asset to the school.

Among the other guests were the chairman of the Islamic Association,
Pedro Linares, and a high priest (babalao) of the African Yoruba
religion, Stanislav Berboa.

The Baha'i community of Cuba has five Local Spiritual Assemblies and has
another center in Camaguey. The community has regular children's
classes, devotional meetings, and study circles where guests are
welcome.

The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Cuba was established in Havana in
1941. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Cuba was formed
in 1961.