Pope visits Castro's turf

Calling for a "climate of freedom, mutual trust, social justice and lasting peace" in Cuba, John Paul also repeatedly spoke out for greater religious freedom, especially for the Catholic Church. At a January 24 mass in Santiago the pope said "true freedom" includes "the recognition of human rights and social justice." Lay Catholics, he went on to say, "have the duty and the right to participate in public debate on the basis of equality. Defending her own freedom, the church defends the freedom of each individual, of families, of different social units." In speaking of the active role that people should play in creating a better society, John Paul declared that "each person, enjoying freedom of expression, being free to undertake initiatives and make proposals within civil society, and enjoying appropriate freedom of association, will be able to cooperate effectively in the pursuit of the common good." The pope also called for the reopening of the Cuban Catholic school system, which was nationalized by the state in the early 1960s following church opposition to Castro's policies.

Speaking with Cuban bishops January 25, John Paul noted that his call for government concessions "does not cause you to demand that the church should have a dominant or exclusive position in society, but rather she should occupy her rightful place in the midst of the people and have the possibility of adequately serving the brethren. When the church demands religious freedom, she is not asking for a gift, a privilege or permission dependent on contingent situations, political strategies or the will of the authorities. Rather, she demands the effective recognition of an inalienable human right."

John Paul also urged militant anti-Castro exiles in the U.S. to ease their stance. Cuba's bishops, he argued, should work with their American counterparts to encourage reconciliation between Cuban exiles in the U.S. and Cubans in their homeland. "To the extent that they [the exiles] consider themselves Cubans", he said, "they, too, must cooperate, peacefully and in a constructive and respectful way, in the nation's progress, avoiding useless confrontations."

In his first comments since returning to the Vatican, John Paul II remarked January 28 that he hoped his journey to Cuba would lead to the sort of changes that followed his 1979 visit to Poland. Speaking to a group of Poles at his weekly general audience, the pope said: "I wish for our brothers and sisters on that beautiful island that the fruits of this pilgrimage will be similar to the fruits of that pilgrimage in Poland." The pontiffs visit to Poland strengthened the Polish Catholic Church and led to the formation of the independent trade union Solidarity. Eventually, Poland's communist leadership was forced out.

John Paul, who was reportedly tired and spoke in a weak voice, described his Cuban sojourn as "unforgettable." Terming the trip "a great event of spiritual, cultural and social reconciliation," he said it would "produce beneficial effects" despite Cuba's "Marxist, materialist and atheist" society.