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By Frances Kerry
HAVANA, Jan 16
(Reuters) - A Cuban bishop appeared on Havana's state television station on
Friday to explain a visit by Pope John Paul to Cuba and said the Church had a
role that could not be substituted in improving the life of people.
Monsignor Carlos Baladron, auxiliary bishop of Havana, said the Pope was
making his Jan. 21-25 visit "to confirm Cubans in their faith because he
already has us in our hearts, since he wants the Church to serve our people and
Jesus Christ.''
"The Church has a role that cannot be substituted amidst people and it
contributes and wants to contribute to the improvement of human beings,''
Baladron said in his 15-minute television address.
He reiterated the main points of a message from Cuban bishops last year.
They said the church sought as "fruits'' of the papal visit more space
to preach the message of Jesus and the chance to play a role improving people's
ethical values and promoting "reconciliation'' among Cubans.
Baladron's appearance followed a landmark address on Tuesday on Cuban state
television by Cuba's Cardinal Jaime Ortega, archbishop of Havana, also to
explain the papal visit.
Ortega's 30-minute address was the first time a leader of the Cuban church
was able to address Cubans through state media since the early years after
President Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
Baladron's address appeared to be more forthright than that of Ortega, who
restricted his words to an explanation of who the Pope was and what his main
preoccupations were.
Baladron stressed the Church's vision of its role as necessary but separate
from other structures in society.
He said the service of the church, based on faith and hope, "should not
be confused with others that men carry out among themselves in structures and
organization.''
At the end of his address, delivered live from a television studio, Baladron
stood to bless Cubans, making the sign of the cross as he intoned the blessing.
The papal visit, agreed at a historic meeting between the Pontiff and Castro
in November 1996 at the Vatican, has aroused hopes in the Church that it will
enjoy more latitude in the future in Cuba.
So far, the Pope's visit has produced a series of concessions by Castro's
government, such as allowing the Church limited time on state television to
explain what will happen.
Authorities agreed to let Ortega speak on national television and to screen
four separate appearances on television by Church leaders in each city the
Pontiff will visit -- Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba.
Castro himself was scheduled to talk to the Cuban people about the Pope's
visit on state television late on Friday. REUTERS
06:18 01-17-98 |