Critical Priest Moved from his Parish in Santiago de Cuba

HAVANA TIMES – Father Jose Conrado Rodriguez, one of the most critical of the Cuban government in the Catholic Church, will move to a parish in Cienfuegos, reports the Miami newspaper El Nuevo Herald.

Conrad said goodbye Sunday to his parishioners in the parish of Santa Teresita del Niño Jesús in the city of Santiago de Cuba.

According to Diario de Cuba, the Catholic priest in 1994 wrote an open letter to Fidel Castro, criticizing the island’s economic situation, demanding fair elections and urging it to initiate a dialogue with dissidents and exiles. In 2009 he sent another similar letter to Raul Castro.

The priest has been recognized by dissidents on the island as a fighter for human rights.