Capitol Hill lawmakers encourage church efforts on religious travel to Cuba
Washington, D.C.-Mon June 18- In an effort to get the U.S. government to ease restrictions on religious travel to Cuba, a delegation of leaders from Christian denominations and ecumenical organizations lobbied key lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday (June 14) to garner support for proposed House and Senate legislation that would end a ban on travel to Cuba for United States citizens. Today, based on encouragement received during their lobbying effort, humanitarian agency Church World Service and its partners say they intend to meet with other influential members of Congress to enlist the backing of as many lawmakers as possible for the pending legislation.
Bills introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in the House of Representatives and by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) in the Senate, would end the United States ban on travel to Cuba for all Americans.
The bills continue to collect co-sponsors and the delegation received words of encouragement from long-time supporters like Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), who restated his âcommitmentâ to an end to the travel restrictions and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who thanked them for the work of the church on the Cuba issue and said, âOf all the efforts to bring change, this work by the church is one of the most important.â
In a series of meetings with lawmakers and legislative aides the delegation voiced special concern that any new legislation be broad enough to allow unlimited religious travel. The hoped for legislation is high on the churchesâ agenda because mainline Christian denominations and their ecumenical agencies say their religious work with Cuban partner churches and agencies has been seriously crippled over the past two years.
âThere have always been regulations that we have had to abide by,â said delegation leader Martin Shupack, associate director for public policy at Church World Service, âbut what has changed is the interpretation of those rules under the current administration.â
Since 2004, the U.S. has drastically limited travel to Cuba by Cuban-Americans wishing to visit family members, scientists, academic researchers, students, and since mid-2005, national and regional religious bodies.
The restricted license limits religious travel to only one trip per quarter and requires applicants--like Church World Service, the Episcopal Church, The United Methodist Church, the Church of the Brethren, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and others-- to list on the application the names of up to 25 people who will travel under the license. But in some cases national church bodies have been unable to acquire even these restricted licenses.
During the Capitol Hill meetings delegation members gave vivid examples of the negative effect on their work and witness in the Latin American country.
Jerald McKie, associate general secretary at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, described how her denominationâs 15 long-term projects in Cuba have suffered. The last time representatives from the churchâs mission board have been able to visit those projects and their Cuban ecumenical partners was in March of 2006.
âWe applied for renewal shortly after returning from that trip and we still have not received the license. All we have received is a letter saying that it is âpendingâ.â This has been going on for more than 15 months now.â
The effect of the ongoing delays for The United Methodist Church and other denominations is to deny the churches and the people of Cuba badly needed assistance from their partner churches in the United States and to severely hinder Christian fellowship and mutual nurture between the churches in the two countries.
âThe church is on fire for the Lord in Cuba,â McKie said. âIt is filled with young people lined up and packing house churches an d storefront churches. We need to be able to walk with these people and to nurture that spirit as their partners in faith.â
Like the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Churches and Global Ministries of the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ have applied for but not received the restricted licenses. Mary Weaver of the American Baptist Churches related how ABC headquarters recently received a letter from Baptist churches in Cuba expressing concern about the lack of visits and feeling that they were being forgotten by U.S. Baptists.
The denial of licenses for unlimited travel to Cuba, which was allowed under previous interpretation of the regulations, is an unwarranted incursion by the government into religious affairs, members of the delegation emphasized.
In a July 12 letter to members of Congress, leaders of 13 mainline Christian denominations and national or regional bodies, underscored the grave concern over the restrictions and urged lawmakers to support the âExport Freedom to Cuba Act of 2007â (HR-654) introduced by Reps. Rangel and Flake, and the âFreedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2007 (S. 721), saying âWe believe they are unfair and inappropriate, restrain religious freedom and reflect undue governmental interference in the exercise of religion.â
National organizations like the National Council of Churches, Church World Service and mission boards of denominations often undertake mission work that the congregations they represent cannot do on their own, including sending American delegations and receiving Cuban delegations.
Said the Reverend Brenda Girton-Mitchell, National Council of Churches associate general secretary for justice and advocacy, âThese bodies serve to help churches come together to speak with one voice and to do work that individual congregations cannot do by themselves. The NCC has 35 member denominations, representing 4.5 million Christians in 100,000 congregations across America. These restrictions block our ability to be the witnesses Christ calls us to be and to spread Godâs love throughout the world.â
The delegation also met with staff aides of Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY, thanking them for the Senatorsâ long-time support for ending the travel ban.
The group also visited the offices of Rep. Tom Lantos, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL.
Other members of the religious delegation were Mary Weaver, American Baptist Churches; Rev. Felix Ortiz-Cotto, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ; Rev. Phil Jones, Church of the Brethren; Lesley Crosson, Church World Service; Alex Baumgarten, The Episcopal Church; Kimberly C. Stietz, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Dr. Marilyn J. Seiber, Presbyterian Church (USA); Claire Rodriguez, Latin America Working Group; and Elsa Falkenburger, Washington Office on Latin America.
Media Contacts
Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net