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By FRANK BAJAK
.c The Associated Press
CAMAGUEY, Cuba
(AP) - Pope John Paul II reached out today to a generation of young Cubans who
have known only life under socialism, saying their country's Christian roots
offer the way to "a future of ever-greater dignity and freedom.''
The pope also made his first explicit statements to Cubans on the U.S.
economic embargo against their nation, restating his position that such embargos
are "always deplorable because they hurt the most needy.'' But he said the
embargo should not be used as an excuse for all of Cuba's woes.
The reference was made in a written message handed to a delegation of young
Catholics at a Mass in Camaguey, an eastern city of colorful colonial buildings
300 miles from Havana. He did not read it aloud.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the pope would be more outspoken
regarding the embargo in speeches in the coming days.
In the message and in his spoken homily, also directed at the country's
youth, the 77-year-old pontiff urged Cubans suffering under a prolonged economic
crisis to turn to faith and not give in to hopelessness or the lure of money,
drugs and sex.
"What can I say to you, young people of Cuba who live under material
conditions which are sometimes difficult, who are sometimes frustrated in your
legitimate aspirations and are even deprived of hope itself?'' the pontiff said
in his message. "Resist every temptation to flee from the world and from
society.''
He called on the young to "return to your Cuban and Christian roots,
and do all that you can to build a future of ever-greater dignity and freedom.''
In a reference to the long years of church repression under Fidel Castro,
whose communist government officially embraced atheism until 1992, John Paul
praise Catholics who maintained "a faith often learned on the knee of your
mothers and grandmothers, during the last few decades when the church's voice
seemed silenced.''
The pope made a special appeal for Cubans to join the priesthood. Half of
Cuba's almost 300 priests are foreigners, and the pope said the country "urgently
needs priests who belong to this people.''
Tens of thousands of flag-waving Cubans welcomed the pope in a broad, palm
tree-lined plaza in Camaguey. To the right of the altar stage was a bas-relief
featuring images of Castro, Ernesto "Che'' Guevara and other heros of the
1959 revolution that swept the communists into power.
Cuba's younger generation has been embracing religion in increasing numbers.
While Cuba's population is aging, congregations at Catholic and Protestant
churches appear disproportionally young.
A 16-year-old participant in the Mass, Santiago Valderrama, described the
state of Cuba's youth as "really lost.''
"We've got to do what we can to rescue it. That's why we're here,'' he
said. Valderrama was among those selected to distribute communion.
On Thursday, after the pope met privately with Castro, the Vatican announced
that Cuban officials had agreed to consider freeing some prisoners who had
sought the pope's intercession.
The Vatican's secretary of state made the clemency request at separate talks
during the pope-Castro meeting, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
The Vatican received appeals regarding "several hundred'' prisoners
sent from Cuba as well as Cuban circles in Miami, Vatican officials told
reporters traveling with the pope today. Some of the prisoners are being held
for what dissidents say are political crimes, but it wasn't clear how many.
There are almost 500 political prisoners in Cuba, dissidents say.
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.
Earlier Thursday, amid the lilting, romantic beat of maracas and drums, the
pontiff celebrated Mass in the provincial city of Santa Clara, 160 miles east of
Havana. There, he appealed for sexual morality and restoration of Catholic
education.
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 long has
had one of the world's highest abortion rates. 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.
The government has embraced the pope's visit in a calculated risk that it
will improve 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 people to Masses.
The pope also will celebrate outdoor Masses in Santiago de Cuba on Saturday
and in Havana on Sunday.
AP-NY-01-23-98 1229EST |