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.c The Associated Press
Official texts of statements by Cuban President Fidel Castro and Pope
John Paul II, in the order delivered, as the pope departed Cuba on Sunday:
PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO:
I think we
have given the world a good example: you, by visiting what some chose to call
communism's last bulwark; we, by receiving the religious leader who had been
imputed responsibility for the destruction of socialism in Europe. There were
those who forbode apocalyptic events; some even dreamed of them.
It was ruthlessly unfair to connect your pastoral journey with the mean hope
of destroying the noble objectives, and the independence, of a small country
subjected to a blockade and a truly economic war for almost 40 years. Nowadays,
His Holiness, Cuba is confronting the mightiest power in history, like a new
David - albeit a thousand times smaller - who with the same sling of the
Biblical times strives for survival against a gigantic Goliath of the nuclear
era who tries to prevent our development and subdue our people by hunger and
diseases. If that story had not been written then, it would have to be written
today. This monstrous crime can neither be ignored nor excused.
His Holiness,
Every time I hear or read slanders against my homeland and my people,
fabricated by those who worship no other God than gold itself, I remember the
Christians in the old Rome so atrociously defamed since, as I already expressed
the day you arrived, very often in history slanders have been used to justify
the worst crimes against the peoples. I remember as well the Jews exterminated
by the Nazis and the 4 million Vietnamese who perished under the napalm, the
chemical weapons and the explosives. No one ever had any right to exterminate
others for being Christians, Jews or communists.
Every detail of your visit and your every word were broadcast to the world
by thousands of journalists. All over the country a large number of nationals
and foreigners were interviewed. Our national television networks provided live
coverage of every Mass, homily and speech. Perhaps never before were so many
news and opinions about a small nation heard in such a short time by so many
people all over the planet.
Cuba knows no fear and despises deceit; it listens with respect but believes
in its ideas; it firmly defends its principles and has nothing to hide from the
world.
I am moved by His Holiness' endeavors to have more justice in the world. The
states will disappear and the peoples will constitute only one human family. If
the globalization you proclaim could be extended all over the Earth and the
abundant goods man can produce with his talents and his work could be equitably
distributed among all human beings living on our planet today, then a world
could really be created for them where there would be no hunger and poverty, no
oppression and exploitation, no humiliation and scorn, no injustices and
inequalities; a world where they could live in full moral and material dignity,
in real freedom. That would be a world of justice! Your ideas on evangelization
and ecumenism would not be in contradiction with it.
For the honor of your visit, for all the affection you have shown the
Cubans, for every word you have said - even those I might disagree with - on
behalf of all the Cuban people, Holy Father, I thank you!
POPE JOHN PAUL II:
I have experienced intense and emotion-filled days with the pilgrim people
of God in the beautiful land of Cuba, which has left in me its profound imprint.
I take with me the memory of the faces of so many people whom I met during these
days. I am grateful to you for your cordial hospitality, an authentic expression
of the Cuban soul, and above all for being able to share with you intense
moments of prayer and reflection in the celebration of the Holy Mass in Santa
Clara, in Camaguey, in Santiago de Cuba and here in Havana, as well as in the
visit completed just a few hours ago to the Metropolitan Cathedral.
I ask God to bless and repay all who have worked in bringing about this
visit, so long desired. I thank you, Mr. President, and also the other
authorities of the nation for your presence here as well as for the cooperation
lent in the actual carrying out of this visit, in which as many people as
possible have participated, either by attending the celebrations or by following
them through the media. I am very grateful to my brother bishops of Cuba for
their work and pastoral concern in preparation both for my visit and for the
mission among the people which preceded it, the immediate fruits of which have
already been seen in the warm welcome received; this mission must in some way
continue.
As successor of the Apostle Peter and following the Lord's command, I have
come as a messenger of truth and hope, to confirm you in faith and to leave you
a message of peace and reconciliation in Christ. Therefore I encourage you to
continue to work together, inspired by the highest moral principles, so that the
vitality which characterizes this noble people will produce abundant fruits of
well-being and of spiritual and material prosperity for the benefit of everyone.
Before leaving this capital city, I wish to bid an emotional farewell to all
the sons and daughters of this nation: to those who live in the cities and in
the countryside; to the children, the young people and the elderly; to the
families and each individual person. I am confident that they will continue to
preserve and promote the most genuine values of the Cuban heart. Faithful to the
heritage received from your forbears and despite difficulties, the Cuban spirit
must ever show its trust in God, its Christian faith, its ties to the church,
its love for the culture and traditions of the homeland, its vocation to justice
and freedom. In the process of doing precisely this, all Cubans are called to
contribute to the common good in a climate of mutual respect and with a profound
sense of solidarity.
In our day, no nation can live in isolation. The Cuban people therefore
cannot be denied the contacts with other peoples necessary for economic, social
and cultural development, especially when the imposed solution strikes the
population indiscriminately, making it ever more difficult for the weakest to
enjoy the bare essentials of decent living, things such as food, health and
education. All can and should take practical steps to bring about changes in
this regard. Many nations, and especially those which share the same Christian
heritage and the same language, work effectively to extend the benefits of unity
and harmony, to join efforts and overcome obstacles so that the Cuban people, as
the active agents of their own history, may maintain international relations
which promote the common good. In this way they will be helped to overcome the
suffering caused by material and moral poverty, the roots of which may be found,
among other things, in unjust inequalities, in limitations to fundamental
freedoms, in depersonalization and the discouragement of individuals and in
oppressive economic measures - unjust and ethically unacceptable - imposed from
outside the country.
Dear people of Cuba, as I leave this cherished land, I take with me the
indelible memories of these days and a great confidence in the future of your
homeland. Build it with vision, guided by the light of faith, with the fervor of
hope and the generosity of fraternal love. These are capable of creating a
climate of greater freedom and pluralism, in the certainty that God loves you
intensely and remains faithful to his promises. In effect, "to this end we
toil and strive because we have our hopes set on the living God, who is the
savior of all men (I Tim. 4:10). May he fill you with his blessings and in every
moment may you experience his closeness.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
AP-NY-01-25-98 2020EST |