Washington, July 29 (RHC)-- The National Council of Churches of the United States voiced its concern that Cuba has continued to be listed on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s ¨Special Watch List” for countries with serious restrictions on religious freedom.

In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Council urged them to remove Cuba from that list.   In explaining the Council´s demand, its President Jim Winkler said relationships between American and Cuban Christians go back decades. Its members, through visits of high-level church delegations, have witnessed first-hand the freedom by which Cubans are allowed to express their faith.

After recalling that the opening of embassies in respective capitals, the joint work by the two governments to address differences, and the increase of visitors were extremely positive developments, the Council noted that the inclusion of Cuba in such a list needlessly set these advances back.

The National Council of Churches of the United States added that religious freedom exists in Cuba and that its inclusion by the U.S. government on the “Special Watch List” reflects an unfortunate denial of this reality and only reinforces worsening trends in relations between the two countries.