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By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY,
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Pope John Paul, recalling a historic trip to Poland that
inspired opponents of communism, said on Wednesday he hoped this month's visit
to Cuba would bear similar fruit.
His comments were in stark contrast to Fidel Castro's at the end of the
visit on Sunday, when the Cuban leader poured scorn on those who hoped the trip
could lead to the end of communism in Cuba.
"My visit to Cuba reminded me a lot of my first visit to Poland in
1979,'' the pontiff, speaking in his native Polish, told his weekly general
audience.
"I hope for my brothers and sisters on that beautiful island that the
fruits of this pilgrimage will be similar to the fruits of that pilgrimage to
Poland,'' he added.
Historians believe the Pope's first visit home, a year after his election in
1978, injected Poles with the courage to form the Solidarity free trade union.
Huge crowds turned out to greet him for his historic homecoming, when he
began calling for a "common European house'' stretching from the Atlantic
to the Urals.
Despite attempts to crush it under martial law, Solidarity kept up its
struggle and, by winning 1989 elections, helped launch the domino effect that
saw communist governments topple throughout Eastern Europe.
"This comment, coming only three days after he left Havana, confirms
that the Pope believes he has made headway in the long process of political
evolution and transition in Cuba,'' Washington-based author Tad Szulc, who has
written major biographes of both Castro and the Pope, told Reuters.
Castro, addressing the Pope at Sunday night's departure ceremony at Havana
airport, mocked those who he said were predicting or dreaming of "apocalyptic
events'' in Cuba as a result of the visit.
While the Catholic Church in Cuba enjoys only a fraction of the influence it
had in Poland when the country was communist, Szulc and others have drawn
parallels between the trips.
As it was in Poland in 1979, the Catholic Church in Cuba is the only
institution in the country, apart from the communist government, with an
extensive structure.
The future role of the Cuban Church, which recently won some concessions
from Castro after nearly four decades of restrictions, was a recurring theme of
the Papal visit.
During the trip, which brought an unprecedented whiff of freedom to Cuba,
the Pope defended human rights, criticised the one-party system and spoke of
political prisoners.
In his main address on Wednesday at the general audience, read in Italian,
the Pope said the trip was a "great event'' of spiritual, cultural and
social reconciliation.
He said it showed that the island's culture had remained at heart Christian,
despite four decades of Marxism.
"It must be recognised that this visit took on an important symbolic
value because of the unique position Cuba has had in this century's history,''
he said.
The Pontiff also several times condemned the U.S. economic embargo against
the island but said Cubans could not blame it for all their problems.
He told the pilgrims he was happy to have been able to preach the Gospel
there, giving Cubans "a message of love and true freedom,'' and thanked
Castro for making the trip possible.
"The Papal visit gave voice to the Christian soul of the Cuban
people,'' he declared. REUTERS
12:36 01-28-98 |