Ladies in White to Meet With Cardinal

HAVANA TIMES — Berta Soler, the spokesperson for the Ladies in White, confirmed on Tuesday to US-funded Radio Marti that Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega will receive them on Thursday, according an official with the Archdiocese of Havana.

Soler said that for the group of women “it is very important to talk with the cardinal” to thank Ortega for his mediation in support of the opposition activists in 2010 and to talk with him about the repression of their members and of dissidents in general by Cuban authorities.

Soler stated that they would again ask the cardinal to intercede on their part before Pope Benedict XVI to request an audience at the Vatican.

The pastoral position maintained by the Archdiocese of Havana has been harshly criticized in recent weeks by the opposition inside and outside the island for its stance of in support of dialogue with the Raul Castro government.