US sanctions are harming the Cuban Catholic Church, the island’s hope

(RNS) — While there is growing awareness of the severe humanitarian crisis in Cuba, in large measure brought on by the U.S. fuel blockade, few are paying attention to the damage that decades of sanctions are inflicting on the Catholic Church’s ability to serve the Cuban people.

The United States has pressed economic sanctions on Cuba for over 60 years. Congress strengthened those sanctions through the Helms-Burton Act in 1996, extending penalties to some foreign companies doing business with Cuba. While the Obama administration partially eased sanctions, the Trump administration, particularly in its second term, reimposed sanctions even more stringently, including a prohibition on oil delivery to Cuba.

Those policies have triggered Cuba’s deep economic crisis. Not only has the United States prevented any fuel deliveries to the country — for months now — but it has also imposed such severe penalties on international businesses and aid organizations that Cuba’s entire economy is affected. The latest round of measures imposed on May 1 forced the withdrawal of the international banks through which the country does business, and forced out foreign investors in Cuba’s main…