c. 1998 Religion News Service

NEW YORK _ A group of more than 400 excited and expectant Roman Catholic pilgrims, many bearing medical supplies and accompanied by as many as 50 reporters and other media, left New York on Tuesday (Jan. 20) for Cuba to witness the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to the island nation.”I want to be part of history,”said Beatrice Castano of Woodside, N.Y., as she waited to board the plane chartered by the Northeast Hispanic Catholic Center.”I want to be part of the hope we are bringing to the people.” The New York charter is the largest of several flights _ from Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Puerto Rico _ of some 1,500 pilgrims heading for Cuba ahead of John Paul’s scheduled arrival Wednesday.

The flight originated through a request to New York Cardinal John J. O’Connor from Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega to organize a group of pilgrims for the papal visit. Ortega and O’Connor are close friends and the Archdiocese of New York has been sending priests and humanitarian aid to Cuba for a number of years.”This is a very unique experience,”said Nelly Gomez, a Cuban-American whose family left Cuba 30 years ago, after Fidel Castro and his band of Marxist revolutionaries took power in 1959 by overthrowing the dictatorship of Fulgencio Baptista.

Gomez, from Harrisburg, Pa., is traveling with a party of nine family members, making her first trip back since leaving.”We want to share the joy and excitement with the people,”she said over the din of babble as the pilgrims waited to board the flight.”It is a religious and patriotic experience.” Like some Cuban church officials, Gomez believes the trip will change life in Cuba.”Opening the doors to the pope is a good thing and Fidel can’t stop what will happen now,”she said.

Her remarks echoed those of Ortega, who told reporters on Monday he was generally pleased with Cuban government efforts to make the trip a success.”The fruits of the pope’s visit have already been seen and we will see even more afterward,”Ortega said.”Time will not move backward.” The pilgrims, gathered at Kennedy International Airport, also walked the thin line between religion and politics. Many were bringing medical supplies and were critical of the U.S. government’s economic embargo that has strangled the Cuban economy since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The Rev. Ronald Salotico, pastor at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Pleasantville, N.J., was bringing a half-dozen boxes of medical supplies, plus crutches and wheelchairs.”We’re taking advantage of this opportunity,”he said of the humanitarian aid.”We know the spiritual blockade has been lifted. But we still have the other blockade.”The economic blockade, he said,”only hurts the poor.” But the Cuban-American community is sharply split on what its proper response to the papal trip and the potentially positive light it will shine on Castro should be.

One pilgrim, Rodrigo Perez of Rockville, Md., whose parents left Cuba in the 1960s, said he has not told any family members he is making the trip.”Most of my family is in Miami and I would say the vast majority are not in favor of going now because they fear it will help the Castro regime,”he said.

But Perez said he was making the trip to help”serve as a powerful Christian witness and help the Holy Father reclaim his flock.” John Paul’s visit, he said, echoing the sentiments of other pilgrims, will”help end the current (Marxist) revolution and replace it with the only revolution that really changes things _ Christ.” In Cuba, meanwhile, the government announced it will grant workers time off to greet John Paul and attend one of the papal Masses scheduled for four cities, including a huge celebration in Havana on Sunday.

And while Ortega expressed disappointment that the church was not given more access to the government-run media _ only the Sunday Mass in Havana will be telecast _ Castro has called on the people to turn out en masse for the pope’s various appearances around the island and the press has published the pope’s itinerary and maps detailing locations where people can gather.

MJP END RIFKIN