Cuba: Religious repression in Castro's paradise

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, June 10 (Miguel D. Tejeda, Cubanacán Press / www.cubanet.org) - The head of the Religious Affairs department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Caridad Diego, told the more than 60 evangelical pastors and ministers present at a meeting in Santa Clara on Tuesday that it is "immoral" to accept contributions from tourists.

These contributions, usually in dollars or euros, make up a substantial part of the revenue these churches depend on for their maintenance and programs.

Last month, the local Catholic Church was notified it could not continue distributing free medicines to the population, as it had been doing.