Dialogue is a fundamental option for the Church in Cuba and especially for its bishops, which has been key in the development of its mission in the last decades. The method has always been the search for common points with different interlocutors, in the service to the people of God.
Cardinal Jaime Ortega has played an important role in these efforts of dialogue, for Cuba and the world, serve some examples:
At the request of Pope Francis, he was very helpful in carrying out the agreement of December 17, 2014 to normalize diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. The Holy Father had received from both leaders the request to mediate in a process of rapprochement. The Pope then commissioned Cardinal Ortega to hand personally a letter to each president and to fulfill the mediating mission in his name.
The efforts resulted in the reopening of the United States Embassy in Havana on August 14, 2015 and in the visit of President Obama to Havana on March 20, 2016. After the official reception at the José Martí Airport, the President went for a walk around Havana, which included a visit to the Havana´s Cathedral and Padre Varela Cultural Center, where he was received by Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Fhather Yosvany Carvajal, Director of the Cultural Center.
In another example, on Friday, February 12, 2016, taking advantage of pastoral visits to their respective communities in Latin America, His Holiness Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all the Russias met in Havana. It was the first meeting between a Pope of the Catholic Church and a Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, although meetings between popes and Patriarchs of other Orthodox Churches had already taken place. The president of Cuba received both dignitaries and was present at several moments of the tour of Havana by Patriarch Kirill.
Both in the preparation of this historic meeting and in its development, Cardinal Jaime Ortega played an important role as a collaborator of the Holy Father.