Roman Catholic magazine in Cuba might soften its political side

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The Roman Catholic magazine Espacio Laical is on display in a small shop in Old Havana. (Franklin Reyes/Associated Press)

Posted: Saturday, July 12, 2014 11:28 am
Associated Press

HAVANA — Launched as a bulletin for Catholic lay people, Espacio Laical magazine became an unusually open and critical forum for debate in Cuba, a rarity in a country where the state has controlled all media for five decades.

Now, the sudden departure of its two longtime editors may have endangered that status just as Cuba’s Roman Catholic Church and the Communist-run country embark on major changes.

First published in 2005, Espacio Laical’s reflections on faith and daily life were augmented by articles about politics, economics and society. The magazine became a must-read for members of Cuba’s academic and intellectual elite — some of them the very architects of President Raul Castro’s ongoing reforms, such as allowing limited private enterprise and decentralizing state-run businesses.

Espacio Laical “gave room to opinions from different points of view,” said Cuban analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray, who has worked with the magazine. “It is something that is very needed today in Cuba, which is a public space for debate about the nation’s problems.”

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/world_news/roman-catholic-magazine-in-cuba-might-soften-its-political-side/article_612e3ae0-09f2-11e4-9a91-001a4bcf887a.html

http://www.espaciolaical.org/

Google can give a translation of sorts of its website.