|
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY,
Jan 18 (Reuters) - In a visit drawing more attention than any of his trips, Pope
John Paul travels to Fidel Castro's Cuba on Wednesday to bolster the Catholic
Church's role in any eventual transition in the communist-ruled country.
When he lands in Havana the 77-year-old Pontiff will become the only man to
cast a shadow over Castro on his home turf since the 1959 revolution.
As religion faces off with revolution, most observers are convinced the
Pope's first visit to Cuba will be a catalyst for some kind of change. But
Castro has sworn that the principal ideals of the revolution will stand.
"This is the beginning after 39 years of a process that will mark the
final phase of Castro,'' U.S. author Tad Szulc, who has written major
biographies of both men, told Reuters in a telephone interview from his
Washington home.
Many observers feel the ageing and ailing Pope wants his visit, his 81st
overseas in a history-making pontificate now nearly 20 years old, to ensure that
the Church in Cuba can play a role in what they call a "soft landing'' in
Cuba's future.
The Pope said earlier this month that he hoped the Jan 21-25 visit would
help Cubans achieve a "a homeland ever more just and united...where all
individuals can find their rightful place and see their legitimate aspirations
recognised.''
The Pope, who has always felt that communism was a passing phenomenon and
played a vital role in its downfall in his own Poland, will be the guest of a
man who sees himself the guardian of socialism's flickering flame.
The Pope will be walking a razor's edge as he speaks out in favour of more
rights for the island's Catholic Church, which Castro repressed after the
revolution, while at the same time praising Cuba for its social accomplishments.
"The Pope, as I understand it, feels very strongly that a climate
should be established in Cuba that will allow a transition --- however it
happens, whenever it happens—without civil war, without bloodshed,'' Szulc
said.
Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, former Vatican secretary of state whose "Ostpolitik''
policy kept the Church alive in Eastern Europe during the years of communism,
said he was "profoundly convinced'' the visit to Cuba would help the
country.
"There will not be the spectacular political results that some people
are expecting. But what the Pope wants is to reinforce the faith of Cuban
Catholics and induce the regime to take a better position (towards the
Church),'' Casaroli said.
Casaroli told Italian television he believed the Church's role in Cuba would
be difficult "as long as the regime remains tied to certain presuppositions
that are anti-democratic.''
The Pope and Castro will meet at least twice during the trip.
The Vatican wants the visit to translate into more religious freedoms, which
it believes are the basis for all other freedoms, including political liberties
and human rights.
Vatican and diplomatic sources and church observers say the Pope wants to
infuse the local Church with the influence it will need to call upon in the
country's near future.
"I think the Church will not be of itself a political organ...but the
Church as a result of this visit in a way will be the umbrella for what I
believe will be emerging Christian Democratic forces,'' Szulc said.
Diplomats and Vatican observers say Castro, who first met the Pope in Rome
in November 1996, is hoping the Pope will make an unequivocal stand against
Washington's 35-year-old economic embargo of Cuba, aimed at forcing him into
political change.
"This is the beginning of a transition. Castro knows that the Pope is
the only person in the world today who can legitimise him,'' said Szulc, who has
interviewed both men extensively for his two books.
"I think this is a major turning point. It does not mean Castro will be
gone in a year,'' Szulc said. "Being legitimised by the Pope makes it
easier for him to hang on longer but he in effect will be making a pact with the
devil, in reverse of course, that he will gradually relax other things.''
Vatican sources say Castro is fascinated by the Pope because the Pontiff has
been able to criticise both capitalism and communism. In a 1992 encyclical the
Pope declared "the Marxist solution has failed'' but that unbridled
capitalism was full of defects.
Castro, addressing Cubans at the weekend, warmly described him as a man of
talent and intelligence and "a historic figure of our epoch.''
Castro urged Cubans to fill public squares for the four outdoor masses that
the Pope will preside over and insisted the Pontiff had much in common with the
Cuban government's thinking in terms of condemning the world's social
injustices.
Castro spent a good part of his television address stressing that Havana
believes the Pope is in many ways on a similar political wavelength to the Cuban
government with his concerns about issues such as poverty and Third World debt.
Szulc said the trip would be a "quid pro quo'' for both men.
"Obviously there are political risks on both sides. Both of them are
experienced politicians. They both understand and have analysed to death the
risks. But they both feel it is a risk worth taking,'' Szulc said
"Castro has no options. He needs that legitimisation,'' Szulc said,
adding it would be harder for Washington to maintain its tough stand towards
Cuba if the Pope is treated as well as is expected.
While it insists it seeks no political gain from the visit, Havana is
clearly pleased at the contrast between the trip and Washington's long-standing
policy of isolating the island.
"Once the Pope arrives in Havana and establishes a visibly cordial
relation with Castro it becomes very difficult for Clinton to continue
maintaining (his position),'' Szulc said. REUTERS
06:01 a.m. Jan 18, 1998 Eastern |