March 16,
2016
Dear
Member of Congress,
As faith
leaders in the United States we write to urge you today to take action to end
our long-standing and counter-productive embargo on Cuba.
We have
listened to the call of our partner faith communities in Cuba, with whom we
have worked for many years on humanitarian issues, on disaster response, and in
sister church relationships. Uniformly and consistently, they have told us that
the embargo brings no benefits to the faith community in Cuba. In fact, it
makes life more difficult for church members and the Cuban people more broadly.
They would like a full normal relationship, in which they can visit and learn
from us, and we can visit and learn from them. They recognize that our two
governments have differences, and issues that must be resolved; they are eager
to see those issues discussed in the context of normal, respectful relations.
As
religious membership and attendance in Cuba has grown over recent years, we
feel a renewed urgency to bring an end to the embargo, and move toward a more
constructive relationship.
In the
last few years, restrictions on travel to Cuba and on exports to Cuba have
eased somewhat, and diplomatic relations have been restored. Our partner
communities have welcomed these moves, as have we.
Now is the
time for you, as our representatives in the Congress, to take action to bring
an end to the embargo. The Cuban Democracy Act, the Helms-Burton legislation,
and the Trade Sanctions Reform Act, all impose various legislative restrictions
on travel, trade, and diplomatic relations. The time for those restrictions has
passed.
In the
current Congress, there is a packet of legislative initiatives that would bring
an end to most of the onerous restrictions of the U.S. embargo. H.R. 3687 the
Cuba Agricultural Exports Act would end rules that limit agricultural sales to
Cuba, H.R.3055, the Cuba DATA Act, would end limits on telecommunications trade
and investment, and H.R. 3238, the Cuba Trade Act, would end limits on trade in
general. The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act (H.R. 664) would end any remaining
restriction on U.S. citizen travel. We urge you to endorse these pieces of
legislation, as a signal of your commitment to ending the embargo and returning
to normal relations that will benefit both our peoples and our faith
communities.
While our
two governments have disagreements that must be resolved, these can be
addressed in the future through respectful dialogue and engagement.
Religious
freedom and religious life have grown dramatically in Cuba in the last two
decades, and religious attendance – among Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant,
Jewish and Muslim communities – has grown as well. The faith community is
playing a greater role in the life of the Cuban people, and we look forward to
its continuing growth and expansion. We look forward to the day when
relations between our two countries are fully normal, and when our peoples and
our communities can engage with one another unhindered and with mutual
understanding and benefit. Legislative action to end the embargo will bring
that day closer, and we urge you to support legislation that would do so.
Yours,
Susan Gillies
Interim General Secretary
American Baptist Churches USA
Archbishop Vicken Aykazian
Legate
Armenian Orthodox Church
Christopher J. Hale
Executive Director
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Rev. Dr. James Moos and Rev. Julia Brown Karimu
Co-Executives, Global Ministries
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United
Church of Christ
Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S.A
and Canada
Dr. Steve Timmermans
Executive Director
Christian Reformed Church in North America
Rev. John L. McCullough
President and CEO
Church World Service
Rabbi Elhanan 'Sunny' Schnitzer
President
The Cuba America Jewish Mission
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
Presiding
Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Fr. William Kelley, S.J.
Secretary for Social & International Ministries
Jesuit Conference of Canada & the United States
J Ron Byler
Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Rev. Fr. Bill Antone, OMI
Provincial
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate-United States
Province
James Winkler
General Secretary and President
National Council of Churches USA
Rev. Paula Clayton Dempsey
Director
Partnership Relations
Sister Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Dr. Timothy Tee Boddie
General Secretary
Progressive National Baptist Convention
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Director
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Sr. Madeleine Munday, RGS
Province Leader
Sisters of the Good Shepherd of North America
Rev. Peter Morales
President
Unitarian Universalist Association
The Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer
General Minister and President
The United Church of Christ
Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr.
President, Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
