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.c The Associated Press
By DAVID BRIGGS
HAVANA (AP) - "Be
not afraid'' was Pope John Paul II's message to Cubans on his first full day on
the island, a day that began with criticism of government policy on abortion and
the closing of Catholic schools and ended with an appeal to free some prisoners.
After a private meeting between the pope and Fidel Castro, the Vatican
announced late Thursday that the government had agreed to consider freeing some
prisoners who had asked the pontiff to present their cases to the Cuban leader.
Earlier in the day, amid the lilting, romantic beat of maracas and drums,
the pontiff celebrated Mass in the provincial city of Santa Clara, appealing for
sexual morality and restoration of Catholic education.
"The family, the school and the church must form an educational
community in which the children of Cuba can `grow in humanity.' Do not be
afraid; open your families and schools to the values of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, which are never a threat to any social project,'' the pope said.
The pope is scheduled today to say Mass in Camaguey, an old, eastern city of
white colonial buildings and lush interior gardens where the pontiff is to talk
about youth.
On Thursday, the Vatican announced the possible concession on freeing
prisoners after the pope met privately with President Fidel Castro, an
opportunity long awaited by John Paul to set down his vision for his church in
Cuba.
Requests from Cuban prisoners asking John Paul to press for an act of
clemency were put forward by the Vatican's secretary of state in separate talks
during the pope-Castro meeting, said papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.
Navarro-Valls did not disclose the number involved or whether they included
any of the nearly 500 political prisoners that Cuban dissidents say are held.
The pope and Castro met at sunset and talked privately for about 50 minutes
in the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. There was no word on what they
discussed.
Entering and leaving the meeting, John Paul walked slowly with the help of a
cane down a red carpet, with Castro slowing his step to the pope's pace.
"(See) how we are after seventy and something years?'' the pope said to
Castro.
Castro gave the pontiff a 120-year-old leather-bound biography of Father
Felix Varela, a 19th-century priest whom Cubans consider one of the founders of
Cuban nationalism. The pope gave Fidel a brightly colored mosaic portrait of
Christ.
The government has embraced the pope's visit in a calculated risk that it
will burnish its image with a display of openness without encouraging too much
dissent.
It is devoting hours of live television time to papal events and helping
transport tens of thousands of people, given time off work at state jobs, to
Masses.
What viewers saw Thursday was an outpouring of deep emotion and affection
for the 77-year-old pontiff, who flew in for a half day in the heartland city of
Santa Clara, 160 miles east of Havana.
"We feel it! We feel it! The pope is here among us!'' the crowd chanted
as the "popemobile,'' a white pickup truck topped by a bulletproof-glass
compartment, wended its way toward the open-air altar amid tens of thousands
assembled for Mass in the dust and sweltering heat of an athletic field.
In his homily, John Paul denounced systems "which, under the guise of
freedom and progress, promote or even defend an anti-birth mentality.''
Abortion is free of charge and available on demand in Cuba, which has long
had one of the world's highest abortion rates.
"Abortion ... is always, in addition to being an abominable crime, a
senseless impoverishment of the person and of society itself,'' the pontiff
said.
In recent years, Cuban officials have accelerated a campaign to discourage
abortions. They say the rate - once one abortion for every live birth - has been
cut in half.
John Paul drew the most enthusiastic reaction from the Santa Clara crowd
when he called for restoration of Catholic education in Cuba, where Catholic
schools were closed in the early 1960s.
The government has certain rights in education, the pope acknowledged, but "this
does not give public authority the right to take the place of parents.''
The message not to be afraid resonated with some Catholics in the nation
that up until six years ago was officially atheist.
"I felt an incredible freedom. I had no fear of anything,'' said Noel
Arteaga Carpio, 30, a barber. "Here, that is something that is more than
rare.''
The pope also will celebrate outdoor Masses in Santiago de Cuba on Saturday
and in Havana on Sunday.
AP-NY-01-23-98 0146EST |