This Article is From Dec 21, 2014

Pope Francis' Role in Cuba Deal Fractures Cuban-American Flock

 Pope Francis' Role in Cuba Deal Fractures Cuban-American Flock

File Photo: Pope Francis. (Reuters)

Miami: The efforts of Pope Francis to foster a thaw between the US and Cuba has caused some fractures among Catholics in Miami.

Though many Cuban-American Catholics praise the pontiff for encouraging progress, others feel betrayed by their spiritual leader.

Those who equate Raul Castro with the devil are incensed by the pope's diplomacy. Cuban exile Efrain Rivas says he feels abandoned, calling himself "a Catholic without a Pope."

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski tells The Associated Press in an interview that some Cuban-American Catholics are indeed "concerned or suspicious" about abandoning US efforts to isolate Cuba.

But the top Miami church leader says, "you can't build a future on top of resentments."
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