In statements to the Vatican News daily from Paris, where he is attending a conference hosted by the French Foreign Ministry, Parolin said the news is “a sign of great hope at the beginning of this Jubilee.”

“It is significant that the authorities in Havana have directly linked this decision to the appeal of Pope Francis in his calling for the Jubilee, and then on several other occasions, asked for gestures of clemency,” the cardinal said.

A Vatican news release said the release of prisoners will be “gradual but broad, within the framework of a mediation with the Catholic Church that has been going on for years.” The report cites a statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which emphasizes the “close and fluid relations” of the Cuban government with the Holy See.

“As in the past, His Holiness has been informed about processes of review and release of persons deprived of liberty, a practice that is common in our justice system and that has characterized the humanitarian trajectory of the Revolution,” the document issued by the Foreign Ministry of that country adds.

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