SANTIAGO DE CUBA (Reuters) – Pope Benedict XVI arrived on Monday in Cuba with the Mission of promoting the social role of the Church in the island and strengthen ties with the Government of Raul Castro, despite their visions conflicting on the future of the existing socialist model for more than five decades.
The Holy Father was received by the Cuban President at the airport of Santiago de Cuba under the thunderous salute of cannons and the cheers of thousands of people, to start a three day visit to pay tribute to the Virgin of charity, national patron in his 400th anniversary.
Since the historic meeting between Pope John Paul II and former President Fidel Castro in 1998, the Catholic Church has become the principal interlocutor of the Government and many hope the visit to increase his role of mediation on issues as sensitive as political prisoners and dissidents groups.
“One of the important fruits of this visit was the inauguration of a new stage in relations between the Church and the Cuban State,” said the Pontiff to emphasize the importance of the Polish Pope to soften hostility between both institutions since the triumph of the revolution in 1959.
“while there are still many ways in which you can and should move forward, especially as regards the essential contribution that religion is called to play in the public sphere of society”, said Benedict XVI dressed in immaculate white.
Although with fewer magnetic media that their respective predecessors, Raúl Castro and Pope Benedict XVI are seen as more pragmatic leaders and the meeting could cement a key Alliance in which the Government seeks to update the economy without giving up his socialist ideology.
“the nation has followed invariably changing everything what should be changed in accordance with the highest aspirations of the Cuban people and with the free participation of this momentous decisions of our society,” said Castro, dressed in black suit and Maroon tie a smoked lens.
Thousands of people gave a jubilant welcome to the German Pontiff shouting and waving flags in an impressive 8 km human chain that flanqueó the Popemobile route to the Centre of Santiago, the second largest city in the country 900 kilometers east of Havana.
84-Year-old Benedict embarked on a small tour to revive the Catholic faith against the growing momentum of popular Protestant faiths in the region. In its passage through Mexico, the Pope denounced the violence for the drug trafficking that has taken more than 50,000 lives in the past five years.
AGENDA without DISSIDENTS
Pertrechadas with bottles of water to quell the stifling Caribbean heat, some 200,000 people attend afternoon mass that records the pontiff in Santiago, including hundreds of Cubans in Florida that many in the country still look askance.
“Welcome the confreres of the diaspora.” “All brothers”, read a large poster in the plaza of the revolution in Santiago.
we all know that Cuba must change”, said Carlos Saladrigas, who resides in Miami.”this visit calls us to all Cubans to leave behind confrontation, strife, hatred, to reconcile us and turn us into brothers”, he assured on political tensions that persist between the two groups.
The grey sang, danced and chanted slogans in favour of the Pope before the homily. The excitement soared when arrived the Virgen de La Caridad with bouquets of flowers and his jeweled mantle, starring in the fourth exit who did the original image of the sanctuary of El Cobre, a few kilometres from Santiago.
On Tuesday, the Pope will pay tribute to the national Patron Saint, a symbol for believers and atheists in the island since that was found floating in the sea by fishermen in 1612, and in the afternoon will fly to Havana to meet formally with Raúl.
It is unclear whether Benedict XVI will also meet with Fidel, of 85 years, or with the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, who is in Cuba undergoing radiation therapy to combat cancer that was diagnosed last year.
However, the Holy Father has no scheduled in its agenda receive dissident leaders, who had called a minute of your time to raise the demands for greater political freedom and respect for human rights in the country.
Las Damas de Blanco, a group of Catholic women calling for the release of political prisoners, said that the authorities will show you a Cuba “which does not exist” and claim that they have forbidden manifested during the visit of the Pontiff.
Some 30 women in this group demonstrated on Sunday without setbacks in Havana under great media coverage, since the arrest last week of several of the opponents hit the fears of conflict during the Pope’s stay.
Communism NI, NI EMBARGO
Visit Crown a time sweet between the Church and the Government, despite the fact that the criticisms made by Benedict XVI to communism before traveling to Latin America show the enormous differences that still persist between the two sides.
“cuba, on this particularly important point in its history, is looking already to tomorrow, and so strives renew and widen their horizons”, said the highest hierarch of the Catholic Church, who called for a global change to emerge from the economic and moral crisis that threatens the soul of men.
Despite criticisms of communism, the Vatican also openly rejects the embargo United States imposed against Cuba 50 years ago by their impact on the population.
The Pope has offered help to advance “smooth” towards new models, something that has raised expectations that his trip will help promote hundreds of reforms the Government is implementing to give more space for private entrepreneurship and significantly lighten the bulging State payroll.
Although they are still emerging, changes – such as a reduction of a million State jobs – generated illusion and doubts in the country of 11 million inhabitants, accustomed to decades of Soviet-style centralization.
“the Cuban people has made tenacious resistance, knowing that we also have a legitimate right when we follow our own path,” said Castro, who officially came to power in 2008 following the resignation of his brother for reasons of health.
“No reason to Cuba are you slander.” “But we are confident that the truth of which we never aside always makes its way”, concluded the Cuban representative.
(With additional report of Miguel Angel Gutiérrez in León, Mexico.) (Edited by Enrique Andrés pretzel, Silene Ramirez and Javier Leira)
