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By Philip Pullella
HAVANA, Jan 26
(Reuters) - Pope John Paul used his trip to Cuba to bolster the Catholic Church
and prepare it to push for the democratic changes he wants on the communist
island.
Pursuing his purpose of leaving behind a stronger, resilient Church, the
Pope served notice on the government that his local bishops and priests will
continue his crusade for human rights and religious freedom long after he is
gone.
"It does not end here. It begins here. After this visit, when priests
give sermons in Cuba, they will be quoting the Pope left and right,'' a Vatican
official said.
"They will be quoting him on human rights, they will be quoting him on
democracy, they will be quoting him on political freedom and political
prisoners. The effect can be powerful,'' said the official, who asked not to be
named.
The future role of the Church, which recently won some new freedom from
President Fidel Castro after nearly four decades of restrictions, was a
recurring theme of the visit.
From the capital Havana to the provinces, the Pope beat the drum daily in
asserting the Church's right to what he called "sufficient freedom and
adequate needs.''
The Pope wants his Church to be a key player in the period leading up to the
post-Castro era and beyond. Vatican sources say he is anxious that any eventual
transition should be a bloodless process in which all sectors of society
participate.
"After this visit the Cuban Church potentially can have a greater
influence on all levels of society, from the intellectuals to the popular level.
There is no alternative,'' the Vatican official said.
The Pope painted his vision of the Church, the only institution in Cuba
apart from the government with an extensive structure, as the prime defender of
the rights and freedoms of Cubans.
"While times and situtions may change there are always people who need
the voice of the Church so that their difficulties, their suffering and their
distress may be known,'' he said at his final Mass on Sunday.
To do this, the Pope told Cuban authorities, the Church needs total freedom.
It could not properly defend the freedoms of individuals if it was not free
itself.
"When the Church demands religious freedom, she is not asking for a
gift, a privilege or a permission dependent on contingent situations, political
strategies or the will of the authorities. Rather, she demands the effective
recognition of an inalienable human right,'' he said in Havana on Sunday.
Vatican sources said they believed that the government's attitude to the
local Church after the papal visit would be closely watched around the world.
"The Cuban Church's reading on whether things are opening up or not
here may become a barometer for the policies of other nations and groups, such
as the European Union, towards Cuba,'' a Vatican source said.
Realizing that the Church may become Castro's key interlocutor in the
future, the Pope was not as confrontational with the government as he has been
on some trips to other countries ruled by authoritarian leaders.
He made his points about freedom and democracy clearly but did not use a
fiery preacher's voice or wag his finger as he sometimes has in the past.
An example of this softly, softly approach came on Saturday night when the
Pontiff called for the release of political prisoners.
The Pope chose to make his appeal at a sparsely attended meeting with sick
people at a shrine on the outskirts of Havana instead of during a
nationally-televised mass.
The result -- the government got the message but it was not as embarrassed
as it could have been if the Pontiff had used another venue for his appeal.
Sometimes the Pope preferred coded words to direct attacks.
Instead of using the words communism or Marxism, he said no ideology could
ever replace Christ -- as Marxism tried to.
Instead of using the word socialism he told youth that no social "model''
could match the truth and justice offered by Christianity.
The Pope also appeared to intentionally soften the blow of his demands to
Castro by saying some of the things the Cuban leader wanted to hear.
He forcefully condemned the U.S. embargo twice, once on national television.
In a message to youth, he called all embargoes "deplorable.''
At his Sunday mass the Pope almost sounded like Castro himself when he when
he attacked "blind market forces'' and the negative aspects of "capitalist
neo-liberalism.''
Castro, who was sitting the the front row, smiled an applauded. REUTERS
00:02 01-26-98 |