HAVANA - The Roman Catholic bishop of the Cuban province of Guantanamo said Tuesday the Church is not facing repression on the island, despite the fact that 23 young Catholics defected after attending Pope John Paul II's Sunday in Toronto, Canada.
Bishop Carlos Baladron, who led the Cuban delegation to Toronto, said he didn't think the incident would make it harder to get Cuban government permission for church groups to travel in the future.
"In order to do something like this (desert), you say things ... that aren't true," said Baladron. "We haven't had any religious persecution, neither there (in Canada) nor here."
"It wasn't just Cubans that stayed" in Toronto, Baladron told reporters at the Varadero airport 85 miles (140 kms) east of Havana, after returning from the Pope's World Youth Day celebration. "I know of other young people from other countries who also stayed in Canada."
The defectors hid out in residences throughout Toronto after escaping during the watch of Cuban security police as Pope John Paul celebrated Mass on Sunday, said Cuban Canadian Foundation president Ismael Sambra.
Sambra said they plan to visit Toronto immigration offices this week and apply for refugee status, arguing that they face persecution for their religious beliefs in communist Cuba.
Nearly 60 percent of Cubans consider themselves Catholic but less than 4 percent actively practice the religion under the government of Fidel Castro.
Rejean Cantlon, spokesman for Canada's Citizenship and Immigration Department, said he could not comment on the defected Cubans as no formal applications have yet been made.
The Cubans were hidden by members of Toronto's Cuban community, Sambra said.