From an article posted on Cathinfo:
Day & Cuba
Day did state “God Bless the priests and people of Cuba. God bless Castro and all those who are seeing Christ in the poor.” (Catholic Worker, July-Aug. 1961) She visited Cuba in 1962, three years after the revolution, and did observe some good occurring in the social order on a purely natural level. Prior to the revolution Cuba was dominated by the United States and a handful of wealthy Cuban families. Over 75% of land was owned by 8% of the population. Day saw private property being extended by Castro’s regime both in terms of housing and land, with a growth of agricultural smallholdings and farming cooperatives. She believed that the Cuban regime “is bending all its efforts to make a good life for the people, a naturally good life (on which grace can build)” (Catholic Worker, Oct. 1962; emphasis mine) and prayed that “grace will build on the good natural, and that the Church will be free to function, giving us the sacraments.” (Catholic Worker, Sept. 1962) Day “was able to participate in Mass each day, and that everywhere she found people involved in the Church and willing to talk about both the inspirations and problems they found as believers in revolutionary Cuba.” (Forest, J. op.cit., p.106) However, in spite of sympathy for certain aspects of the regime Day did not perceive Cuba as anything remotely resembling a Catholic social order and declared that “she could not be on the side of a regime which favours the extirpation of religion.” (Catholic Worker, Sept. 1962)
Dr. Byrne declares that Day’s sympathies with aspects of revolutionary Cuba illustrate “the ambivalent nature of her thinking on the issue of peaceful revolution.” However, Day rejected claims that in expressing sympathy for Cuba that the Catholic Worker had renounced its pacifism, stating that “we are as unalterably opposed to armed resistance and armed revolt from the admittedly intolerable conditions all through Latin America as we ever were.” (Catholic Worker, Sept. 1962) Dr. Byrne in footnote 40 of her second article, highlights the totalitarian nature of revolutionary Cuba by outlining Castro’s role in revising the Penal Code which allowed the government to execute or imprison at will any “enemies of the people.” However, she fails to point out that Day herself had condemned these policies. Day declared in the light of this revision of the Penal Code that the Catholic Worker is against “capital punishment whether it takes place in our own country or in Russia or Cuba. We are against mass imprisonments whether it is of delinquents or counter revolutionaries.” (ibid.) Day did not hesitate to condemn many aspects of Castro’s regime, stating “I hate the arms build-up in Cuba as I hate it in my own country, the waste of intelligence, the waste of resources. Incredible sums are poured into destruction that should be used for schools, hospitals, the development of new and better institutions. I hate to think of prisoners still in Cuban prisons, and of the “shanty towns” which have sprung up in the gardens of the embassies where fugitives full of fear are also imprisoned … I hate to see women especially proudly bearing arms.” (Catholic Worker, Feb. 1963) Catholic schools had been taken over by Castro’s government and secularised. Day opposed this takeover but, as with Spain, sought solutions through spiritual means. She encouraged Cuban Catholics to intensify their love of God and trust in Divine Providence, believing “in one’s own courage, in the effectiveness of prayer to build up courage.” (Catholic Worker, Nov. 1962) Day highlighted the hypocrisy of Catholics who condemned Castro’s regime while fostering a militarism that justifies killing in the name of Christ or His Church. This “Catholic” teaching was “the only kind Fidel Castro ever had, the good Catholic is also the good soldier.” (Catholic Worker, Sept. 1962) Day stated that “until we ourselves as followers of Christ abjure the use of war as a means of achieving justice and truth, we Catholics are going to get nowhere, in criticizing men who are using war to change the social order.” (Catholic Worker, July-August 1962)
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As to referring to Stalin as a "secular saint," you truly better have a citation for that, because in all I've seen, Day was a fierce anti-Communist, although agreeing that Communism came from Capitalism.
Many things that you say, Stephen, come from propaganda disparaging Day, especially that bit about an atheist husband.
Topic: Dorothy Day, Newchurch error and common sense: (Read 1220 times)