Rev. Elaine Saralegui, wearing a rainbow-colored clergy stole and her clerical collar, welcomes congregants to a service at the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, as Ruth the dog stands with her front paws on the altar table, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. In 2015, with support from the U.S.-based LGBTQ+ affirming Metropolitan Community Churches, they converted a house into their church, decked with wooden pews and a stained-glass cross that hangs above the altar. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Rev. Yileyvis Cruz stands by as congregants embrace during a service at the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. In recent years, the communist-run island barred anti-gay discrimination, and a 2022 government-backed “family law” allowed same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Rev. Elaine Saralegui, wearing a rainbow flag on her clerical collar, talks at the end of a service at the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. “This church is a family,” said Saralegui, who has a tattoo of the Jesus fish on one of her forearms and wears a Buddhist bracelet. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Rev. Elaine Saralegui, wearing a rainbow-colored clergy stole and her clerical collar, leads a service at the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. In recent years, the communist-run island barred anti-gay discrimination, and a 2022 government-backed “family law” — approved by popular vote — allowed same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
FILE - Mariela Castro, director of Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education, waves from a convertible classic car during a parade marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, May 17, 2018. For years, the movement for LGBTQ+ rights has been proudly led by Cuba’s best-known advocate for gay rights: Mariela Castro, daughter of former President Raul Castro and niece of his brother Fidel. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File)
Posters featuring church members with a message that reads in Spanish: "Christ loves my colors", are displayed on a wall at the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Members of Cuba’s LGBTQ+ community say a 2022 government-backed “family law” that allows same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt marked a milestone. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Same-sex couples stand in prayer with outstretched hands inside the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Cuba repressed gay people after its 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and sent many to labor camps. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Mario Amilcar, center left, prepares to give Holy Communion to a fellow congregant during a service at the Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. In recent years, the communist-run island barred anti-gay discrimination, and a 2022 government-backed “family law” allowed same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)