Father David Pantaleón, the Jesuits’ superior, was removed from the island by the Cuban government because his residence card was not renewed.
The Jesuits of Latin America released a statement that said, “On the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 13, Father David Pantaleón, superior of the Jesuits in Cuba, departed the island because his residence status was not renewed.”
The priest, who hails from the Dominican Republic, is “also the head of the Cuban Conference of Religious Men and Women (CONCUR),” according to the communiqué. CONCUR has been vociferous in advocating human rights, much like the Jesuits.
The Cuban government reportedly opted not to renew the Jesuit priest’s foreigners’ residency visa after asking that he censor the political and critical remarks made by the Jesuits on the island, which Pantaleón refused to do.
The Sisters of Charity of Cardinal Sancha’s Sister Ariagna Brito Rodriguez expressed her regret on Facebook that “the Cuban government, using its faculties of dictatorial power, without principles or values, forces him to leave the country: they fear the truth, they fear the face of good, and getting rid of what irritates them is their only way of proceeding.”
The nun continued, “This shouldn’t happen; those who use authority to live like kings, at the cost of a slave population, should be chastised, beaten, and forced to flee.
The priest publicly supported a group of San Isidro Movement activists who were on a hunger strike in November 2020 in an effort to liberate one of their members who they said had been wrongfully imprisoned and given a sentence without a trial.
The nun only wanted to go see them to offer them spiritual comfort and hope, but she was prevented from doing so by the authorities.
All of this hurts us. We are unable to turn away by averting our gaze. It goes beyond who is right or wrong. It has nothing to do with left- or right-wing ideas.
The priest at the time commented on Facebook, “It is about things as basic as the freedom to exist, to speak what one believes, to debate differences without ‘demonizing’ the contrary perspective, and to preserve the dignity of everyone.
The Jesuits write that during his five years of service on the island, Pantaleón “accompanied numerous religious men and women, as well as the different efforts of the conference, including escorting convicts and their families.”
The Jesuits commented, “His departure saddens us with regret, but also with appreciation for all the good obtained through him.”
The statement ends, “We pray for the other companions of the apostolic body of the Society of Jesus, men and women who in Cuba show testimony to the unfailing love of a God who desires to unite all people into one people free from all evil, falsehoods, and injustice.
On September 11, Cardinal Juan de la Caridad Garca Rodrguez, the archbishop of Havana, said the last Mass for the Jesuit priest who had been banished by the dictatorship.