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Pope's opposition to U.S.
embargo on Cuba embargo angers exiles
By Madeline Baró
Diaz and Vanessa Bauzá Staff Writers.
Sun-Sentinel,
January 12 2005.
MIAMI · When Pope John Paul II speaks,
millions of people around the world pay
close attention, but when he reiterated
his opposition to the U.S. embargo on Cuba
over the weekend, Cuban-Americans in South
Florida were outraged.
This week, telephone lines for Spanish-language
radio programs lit up as upset callers aimed
to vent their frustration with the pope.
They were angry that he criticized the four-decades-old
embargo during a Saturday meeting with Raul
Roa Kouri, Havana's new ambassador to the
Vatican.
"The Holy See wishes ardently that
the obstacles that currently impede free
communication and exchange between Cuba
and the international community may be overcome
as soon as possible, thus consolidating,
by means of a respectful and open dialogue
among all, the conditions necessary for
genuine development," the pope said.
For some observers, the statement came
as no surprise. The Vatican has repeatedly
opposed economic embargoes designed to achieve
political purposes. But for some Cuban exiles,
many of them Catholic, the pontiff's message
was a slap in the face.
"It's nothing different than the same
attitude that the pope has had in regards
to Cuba, which is really sad because it's
not the same attitude he had toward Poland
or toward communism [in other countries],"
said Cuban exile activist Ninoska Pérez
Castellón. "It's really disappointing."
Alfredo Mesa, executive director of the
Cuban-American National Foundation, another
staunch supporter of the embargo, said his
organization respectfully disagrees with
the pope's position.
However, Mesa said the pope has been helpful
on Cuba. He cited the pontiff's 1998 visit
to Cuba, a trip that made the Catholic Church
on the island important for the dissident
movement, as an example.
"Ever since his visit, it has been
a place where people seek strength to seek
liberty and to fight for the freedom of
Cuba," Mesa said.
In Havana, the Catholic Church has long
advocated not only a more open engagement
between Cuba and the international community,
but also constructive dialogue between the
Cuban government and the internal opposition
movement.
As the most powerful non-governmental organization
in Cuba, the Catholic Church has often been
buffeted with criticism from those who feel
it does not do enough to foster political
change. Meanwhile the Cuban government has
at times accused it of overstepping its
religious mission.
In Havana, Gisela Delgado is one of a small
group of wives of political prisoners who
attend church every Sunday and sometimes
stage modest protests in support of their
husbands' freedom.
She interpreted the pope's statement as
showing solidarity with the Cuban people,
not with one government over another.
"What the church seeks is a dialogue,
and I agree with that," said Delgado,
whose husband, Hector Palacios, is serving
a 25-year prison sentence. "The church
does not seek to place itself alongside
one political [group] or another ... but
to defend human beings."
For some, the pope's message struck a chord.
Silvia Wilhelm, a Cuban-American anti-embargo
activist in Miami, said his comments were
on target.
"I think, once again, the pope is
looking at this issue from a humanitarian
perspective," Wilhelm said. "[The
embargo] is immoral."
But on Spanish-language radio in South
Florida, the pope's comments sparked a firestorm.
Some callers had strong words for the Catholic
Church and some said they might stop attending
church altogether.
But Pérez Castellón, who
is Catholic, said quitting the church is
not the answer, a sentiment that she repeated
to a caller on her afternoon radio show
on Radio Mambí, 710 AM.
Mesa, who is also a lifelong Catholic,
also said the Pope's opinion on the embargo
will not shake his faith.
"I love my church, but on this issue
the church doesn't speak for me," he
said.
The Associated Press contributed to
this report.
Staff Writer Madeline Baró Diaz
can be reached at mbaro@sun-sentinel.com
or 305-810-5007.
Copyright
© 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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