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.c The Associated Press
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
HAVANA (AP) -
Stressing the island's Christian roots, Pope John Paul II sought Friday to rally
Cubans to Jesus Christ and to build a "more just, more free society'' in a
land of aging revolution.
In a homily to young people at a Mass in Camaguey in central Cuba and a
speech to intellectuals at the University of Havana, the pope held up noted
Cuban Christian figures as examples to emulate, hailing their defense of human
dignity and support of democracy.
The messages touched the key goal of the pope's historic visit to this
communist-ruled island - boosting a weak church so it can play a major role in
Cuban society.
The pope called the Rev. Felix Varela, a 19th-century nationalist priest, "the
veritable father of Cuban culture.''
"He was the first to speak of independence in these lands. He also
spoke of democracy, judging it to be the political project best in keeping with
human nature,'' the pope said.
John Paul sprinkled his speech with references to democracy and freedom,
making clear they are fully in keeping with the Christian message.
"Christ is the way which leads man to the fullness of life, the way
which leads to a society which is more just, more free, more human, more
caring,'' he told his university audience, which included President Fidel
Castro.
In another example of newfound freedoms engendered by the pope's visit,
jubilant nuns and seminarians, clutching balloons and a large Cuban flag, danced
with hundreds of students outside the university hall.
Wearing broad smiles, the seminarians gave each other "high fives,''
and the nuns hugged and kissed joyous students. "Lift your hands!'' a nun
shouted, arms extended skyward. "Because the pope is here!''
As Cuban police officers looked on, several dozen of the participants
marched away after the pope's speech chanting slogans of praise for the pontiff.
The demonstration was an extremely rare sight in Cuba, where until recently the
faithful have had to endure restrictions on their religious expression.
Just prior to the pope's arrival, however, President Fidel Castro had
encouraged all Cubans to welcome the pope and to attend all his activities.
University rector Juan Vela Valdes told the pontiff in a welcoming speech
that the Cuban revolution had fostered "a body of ideas whose aim is full
and genuine freedom and equality for the individual and society.''
"The revolution made real the dream of social justice,'' the rector
said.
The third day of the unprecedented five-day papal pilgrimage to this
Caribbean island began with an open-air Mass attended by tens of thousands in
Camaguey.
Since his arrival in Cuba, the 77-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic
Church has looked weak. He limps, his hand trembles and at times during his stay
here, his eyelid has drooped. But the reception in Camaguey seemed to revitalize
the traveler from Rome.
At the Mass in Agramonte Plaza, a buoyant chorus of 500 sang and swayed to a
brassy salsa beat as the bulletproof popemobile headed toward the square through
the city of colonial buildings and hidden gardens.
About 50,000 people filled the plaza, many bused in from distant
communities. Nuns in long white habits shaded their heads with paper Vatican or
Cuban flags.
During pauses in his homily, the crowd chanted and cheered - at one point "Viva
el Papa!'' from a group of Mexicans.
"Are they Cubans who appear to be Mexicans?'' the pontiff quipped back
in Spanish. "Or Mexicans who appear to be Cubans?''
The crowd roared.
Later they chanted, "We see it! We feel it! The pope is here with us!''
and the smiling pope replied, in the tropical heat that reached the 80s, "I
see it, I feel it, the sun is here with us.''
Not everyone in the congregation was so enthusiastic.
Rows of local communist officials sat expressionless and unresponsive
throughout. But many ordinary Cubans also appeared subdued.
"They are receiving this with serenity,'' said one visiting observer,
Spanish Bishop Jose Sanchez. "They don't want to be boisterous because they
are not sure this is going to last.''
He was referring to the greater tolerance for religious expression being
shown by Castro's government. It is this openness that the pope is trying to
build on, especially with his appeal for greater "space'' for Catholic
education.
In a sermon Thursday, the pope scolded the communists for having denied
parents the right to choose a Catholic education for their children.
He returned to the theme in Friday's Camaguey homily on "youth,''
declaring that Catholic education would aid in the "sowing of virtue and
spirituality for the good of the church and of the nation.''
Cuba's pre-revolutionary Catholic schools were primarily havens for a white
elite in this mostly mulatto and black nation. Currently, the government allows
only catechism classes on church grounds.
As usual on his foreign trips, the pontiff, in both his sermon and an
associated written message, appealed to youth to avoid the emptiness and evils
of modern life: "alcohol, the abuse of sex, drug use, prostitution.''
But he also honed his message to the reality of "this bright island,''
where material shortages and the hostility of a giant neighbor, the United
States, have made life hard and deflated the hopes of many young Cubans.
John Paul repeated his criticism of trade embargoes, like America's against
Cuba, calling them "deplorable because they hurt the most needy.''
Yet the answer to the deepest problems doesn't lie in politics, the pope
said, but in returning to Cuba's "Christian roots.''
"Do all that you can to build a future of ever greater dignity and
freedom,'' he declared. From within the church, he said, young people can
contribute to "a society which is ... new: the Cuba of reconciliation and
love.''
People across this beautiful but poor island were watching the pope's
progress on national television, looking for hints that he might help change
things for the better in Cuba.
"The immense majority - immense - support Fidel,'' retired sugar mill
worker Felicito Gonzalez, 74, assured a reporter in Havana. "But there are
many, many problems here. Perhaps this great world personality can help us.''
In one potential concession, the Vatican announced Thursday that Cuban
officials had agreed to consider freeing some prisoners who had sought the
pope's intercession. Human rights groups say Cuba holds almost 500 political
prisoners.
The pope travels to Cuba's second city, Santiago, on Saturday and celebrates
a farewell Mass on Sunday at Havana's Plaza of the Revolution.
AP-NY-01-23-98 2234EST |