DRAFT: LETTER TO REPRESENTATIVE/SENATOR RE. A016 ON CUBA

Dear Senator _________________:/Dear Representative ________________:

As an Episcopalian [and constituent], I am writing to acquaint you with the recent action

of the Executive Council of our Church, supporting our sister Church in Cuba and calling for reconciliation between the United States and the Republic of Cuba, which I support and hope you will, too, as (a/my) Senator/Representative in the Senate/Congress of the United States.

Meeting in Chicago, last November, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church completed action on Resolution A016 on Cuba which had been passed by the House of Bishops at General Convention in July, but was not acted on by the House of Deputies, owing to time considerations. The four Resolved clauses of the Executive Council’s Resolution call for:

(1) “… an immediate end to all portions of the United States economic embargo against the Republic of Cuba, particularly revisions to the embargo implemented by the U.S. Department of State in 2004;

(2) “… dioceses and congregations in the Episcopal Church [to] consider the establishment of companion relationships with the Episcopal Church of Cuba in order to help support the IEC spiritually and, where possible, financially;

(3) “… in order to promote the exchange of religious and political ideals, [for] all members of the Episcopal Church … to travel to Cuba subject to the availability of licenses from the U.S. government where applicable; and [to] receive delegations from the Episcopal Church of Cuba subject to approval by the U.S. government where applicable;

(4) “… the Episcopal Church recommit[ting] itself at all levels to pray for the reconciliation of the United States and the Republic of Cuba, in the Name of the Prince of Peace.”

Besides the political issues of the Executive Council’s Resolution respecting Cuba’s sovereignty as a member of the community of nations, there are two others, independent of it, which touch on the consistency of our government before the world community as regards fighting terrorism: the unjust imprisonment of the Cuban Five by the U.S. Department of Justice and the refusal of our government to honor our extradition treaty with the government of Venezuela in the matter of the self-avowed anti-Castro, anti-Cuba terrorist, Luis Posada Cariles.

The Cuban Five had sought to alert the FBI in 1998 to violent plots in Miami against Cuba which they had infiltrated and, in return, they were unjustly prosecuted and now, held in maximum security facilities, are serving outrageous sentences, including life terms, going into their ninth year.

Dear Senator _______________: / Dear Representative_________________ p. 2

Posada Cariles, who illegally sneaked into the U.S. two years ago, was apprehended by Homeland Security and is being held by Immigration authorities in Texas, has admitted to the press knowledge of the terrorist downing by explosion of a Cuban airliner in 1976 and the 1997 bombing of the Copacabana Hotel in Havana in which an Italian tourist lost his life.

In addition to considering the portions of our Church’s Executive Council action related to General Convention Resolution A016, I hope you or your staff will also look into these  two cases and act – for justice – on them.                                                    

Sincerely,