NEWS ANALYSIS: Pope and Castro vie for future neither will see

c. 1998 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ They are invariably described as titans, two”towering figures of the 20th century.”But with the century near its end, the lasting impact of Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba is likely to be felt long after the two aging leaders are gone. While Castro […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ They are invariably described as titans, two”towering figures of the 20th century.”But with the century near its end, the lasting impact of Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba is likely to be felt long after the two aging leaders are gone.

While Castro is clearly using the first-ever papal visit by the anti- communist pope to fortify his regime, the 77-year-old pope is looking beyond the 71-year-old leader’s regime to leave a lasting stamp on the country.


The pope, for example, appealed to Cuban youths for more priests in a country with under 300, and more deacons and nuns. He asked the government to reopen Catholic schools closed after the 1959 revolution. And he has increased the church’s charitable contributions to the country’s welfare system.

All of these measures are intended to gain a greater foothold in the country after the Castro era is over.

The pontiff’s plan to”save Cuba”as some Vatican officials put it, began in 1992 when he sent emissaries, such as Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, to Havana to meet with government and church leaders.

In 1994, the pope signaled the importance he associates with the country’s future by appointing Bishop Jaime Ortega as the first Cuban cardinal in 30 years.

Castro, meanwhile, is trying to shore up his government by spinning the pope’s visit to demonstrate how much the Catholic leader and the communist president have in common _ their opposition to the American trade embargo, their agreement on eliminating foreign debt of poor countries and their concern about poverty.

Both men have said they have no intent of trying to convert the other. Given their well-known backgrounds, the notion of wholesale change would indeed be revolutionary.”The Cuban president knows well who the pope is,”the pontiff told journalists en route to Cuba,”and if he invited him it means that he thought first about who he was inviting (and) what he could say.””It would seem quite strange for anyone to imagine that I would try to convince the pope to renounce his convictions and ideas,”Castro told the press before the pope’s arrival.”And it seems strange to me that someone could think that the pope has the idea to convince me to abandon my convictions and my ideas.” In his first homily on Thursday (Jan. 22), the pope, in uncharacteristically blunt language, laid out what he thought was wrong with the country _ in essence, isolation and repression.

On Friday, however, he sermonized Cuba’s youth, patiently explaining the role of religion in modern society, imploring them to grasp their potential and assuring them the church, despite its years in the wilderness under the Castro regime, is not the enemy.”The church in your country desires to be of service not only to Catholics but to the whole Cuban people,”he said.


In many respects the pope’s Mass and his message to youth delivered later, resembled regular talks he gives to young people _ don’t give into the temptations of materialism, drugs, sex, violence and”moral relativism.” But in a clear slap at the current system, he returned repeatedly to the themes of human rights and freedom.”Cuba’s future depends on you,”he said,”on how you build your character and on how you translate into action your commitment to transform the world.”Return to your Cuban and Christian roots,”he urged.”And do all that you can to build a future of ever greater dignity and freedom.”

DEA END HEILBRONNER

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