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WASHINGTON,
Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- An independent research and advocacy organization today
announced that the Pope's message in Cuba was misinterpreted by much of the U.S.
media, who focused not on the Pope's statements on truth, freedom, family and
spirituality, but rather on the issue of U.S. trade sanctions against Cuba.
In a word-by-word analysis of the Pope's homilies and speeches in Cuba, the
Center for a Free Cuba found the main messages delivered by the Pope to the
Cuban people emphasized truth, freedom and spirituality. These messages are in
line with the Pope's description of his journey as "a pastoral visit"
and "an apostolic trip."
"Judging by some media reports, the lifting of the Washington trade
sanctions against Havana was the most important issue of the visit," said
Frank Calzon, Executive Director of the Center for a Free Cuba. "However,
after careful analysis, we discovered a different story. We conducted this
analysis to let the Pope's actual words speak for themselves."
The breakdown of the Pope's words revealed the following: While in Cuba,
the Pope mentioned the word "embargo" only once and did not refer to
the United States by name at all. However he did use the word "verdad"
(truth) 74 times, "libertad" (freedom) 53 times, "familia"
(family) 42 times, and "justicia" (justice) 31 times.
The Pontiff's spiritual references included Jesus Christ/God (129 times) and
"Our Lady of Charity," Cuba's patroness (13 times).
Further, John Paul II mentioned "morals/values" 32 times, "solidarity"
16 times, "education" 11 times and "civil society" nine
times. He used the words "fear" and "reconciliation" five
times each, and three times he used the word "prisoner." The Pope
also referred to Cuban exiles around the world/emigration four times.
Excluding references uttered during introductions, the Pontiff mentioned
Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino six times and Fidel Castro (or "President,"
referring to Castro) only four times.
The Center for a Free Cuba is an independent, not-for-profit organization
dedicated to the promotion of human rights and democracy in Cuba.
Please see table below for complete word analysis.
Center for a Free Cuba Word Search Results
Jesus Christ/God ---- 129
Truth ---- 74
Freedom ---- 53
Family ---- 42
Moral/Spiritual Values ---- 32
Justice ---- 31
Solidarity ---- 16
Our Lady of Charity ---- 13
Education ---- 11
Civil Society ---- 9
Pastoral/Apostolic Visit ---- 7
Cardinal Ortega ---- 6
Fear ---- 5
Reconciliation ---- 5
Fidel Castro/President ---- 4
Cubans Around the World/
Emigration ---- 4
Prisoners ---- 3
Embargoes ---- 1
United States ---- 0
SOURCE Center for a Free Cuba
ST: District of Columbia
01/30/98
17:29 EST http://www.prnewswire.com |