IPS-English RELIGION-CUBA: Catholic Church Wants More Freedom to Do Its Work
 
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:59:39 -0800

 
Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Feb 22   (IPS)  - Ten years after the historic visit to Cuba
by Pope John Paul II, who passed away in 2005, the Catholic Church
continues to call for ”unlimited” scope and ”due freedom” for its
social action initiatives in this socialist country, as one of its
most important demands.

”The Church wishes to expand its action to other areas, without limitations,
to contribute unwaveringly to the well-being of the Cuban people,”
said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, in his
homily at a mass celebrated in Havana's Cathedral Square.

The Cuban Church ”hopes to be increasingly present and active in
the midst of society, in ways appropriate to today's world, carrying
out its urgent mission of teaching, healing, helping the poor and
promoting the dignity of all people, whether marginalised, displaced
or imprisoned,” he said.

The open air mass held on Thursday night, the first of three that
the Vatican prelate will celebrate during his visit to Cuba, was attended
by the president of the National Assembly (parliament), Ricardo Alarcón,
Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, and the City of Havana Historian,
Eusebio Leal, among other authorities.

This was the first mass public event in Cuba since President Fidel
Castro announced Tuesday that he was stepping down.

One of the national television channels broadcast the mass live,
which the government had only ever done before on the occasion of
the visit of John Paul II (1920-2005). However, the programme was
announced at very short notice, and it is not known whether other
such events on the Italian cardinal's itinerary will be similarly
aired.

In the context of his request for greater freedom for the Church
to carry out its work, the Vatican's number two ranking official laid
special emphasis on the issue of religious schools, regarded as one
of the most sensitive topics in relations between Cuba and the Vatican.

”In Cuba, Christian and ecclesial charity also has some manifestations
in the education of children and young people with learning difficulties,
and we are hopeful that the church can broaden its efforts without
reserve in this important area of its mission,” he said in the presence
of Cuban officials, the diplomatic corps and the faithful, who filled
the square to overflowing.

After the January 1959 triumph of the Cuban revolution, education
was declared a universal right. Private schools were closed, including
those belonging to different Christian churches, and a public education
system was established which covers over 98 percent of the school-age
population.

There were serious differences between the Cuban state and the Catholic
Church until the early 1990s, when the government permitted a certain
amount of religious freedom. Relations improved radically after John
Paul toured several of the country's provinces in 1998.

While the Church has maintained its longstanding claims, particularly
to the right of access to the media and the opportunity to participate
in the educational system, relations with the Cuban state have been
respectful and based on open dialogue, acknowledged the archbishop
of Havana, Jaime Ortega.

Before the mass in Cathedral Square, Cardinal Bertone met with the
members of the Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference and expressed his
hope that, as happened 10 years ago, the commemoration of this anniversary
will ”contribute to giving a new impetus to the relationship between
the state and the Catholic Church in Cuba.”

That boost is needed ”so that in a spirit of respect and mutual understanding,
the Church can fully carry out her mission, strictly pastoral and
at the service of the faithful, with due freedom,” he added.

Bertone delivered a message from Pope Benedict XVI to the Cuban bishops,
exhorting them not to be discouraged in adversity. ”At times, some
Christian communities feel overwhelmed by difficulties, by the lack
of resources, indifference and even distrust, which can cause disillusionment,”
the text of the message said.

From Friday until next Tuesday, when his visit ends, Cardinal Bertone
plans to hold meetings at the convent of Discalced Carmelite nuns,
with the presidency of the Cuban conference of religious orders, the
Salesian family and the Catholic press. He will also bless a monument
in honour of John Paul II.

His last two days in Cuba will be taken up by an official programme
with the authorities, which includes a lecture at the University of
Havana, a visit to the Latin American School of Medicine, a working
session at the Foreign Ministry and a formal dinner at the Apostolic
Nunciature.

Several sources declined to rule out the possibility that at some
point during those two days, the Vatican Secretary of State may meet
with acting President Raúl Castro, and even his brother Fidel, who
stepped aside from active government duties for health reasons on
Jul. 31, 2006.

Bertone said on Thursday that he had conveyed an invitation from
Fidel Castro to visit the island to Benedict XVI in October 2005.
A similar invitation, this time from the Cuban Catholic Church, was
issued by Cardinal Ortega at the mass in Cathedral Square.

The history of the Church's presence in the region over five centuries
has been ”beneficial, and characterised by intense educational activity,
human development, and respect for the lives of all people,” said
Bertone, as he stressed the formative role of Catholic education in
Cuban culture and thought.


*****
+ CUBA: Catholics Celebrate ‘Festival of the Spirit' (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41300)
+ CUBA: Fidel Castro Officially Steps Down (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41252)
+ Cuban Revolution: Chapter 2? - More IPS News (http://ipsnews.net/new_focus/cuba/index.asp)
+ Cuban Catholic Bishops' Conference - in Spanish (http://www.iglesiacubana.org/)


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