c. 1996 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ In a dramatic coda to the end of the Cold War, Pope John Paul II welcomed Cuban President Fidel Castro to the citadel of Roman Catholicism Tuesday (Nov. 19) and accepted the communist leader’s invitation to visit Cuba next year.

For 35 minutes the pope huddled in his private study with the 70-year-old Castro, whose rigid political order has refused to give way to the democratic reforms that the 76-year-old Polish pontiff helped orchestrate in Eastern Europe.

Nonetheless, the two leaders appeared intent on moving beyond political differences and discussed problems that have hindered relations between Cuba and the Catholic Church, including freedom of religion and speech, and the rights of political dissidents.

The pope told Castro that he should ease his firm grip on opposition figures and seek”reconciliation”among all of his political opponents.”The idea is that it’s all Cubans, either inside the island or outside the island,”papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in reference to political exiles.

No date has been set for the pope’s trip to Cuba. The island nation of about 10.8 million has an estimated Catholic population of 4.4 million.

Vatican officials said there were no other major tangible agreements reached other than the papal trip. But the mere exchange between these two strong, shrewd and independent leaders who have often defied conventional wisdom, was remarkable, even seven years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall.”The very fact that President Castro has been discussing here with the Holy Father some key points _ this is I think the most important thing that has happened,”Navarro-Valls told reporters after the session. He characterized the meeting as”an open and clear climate.” Castro, who flew here Saturday (Nov. 16) for a U.N. conference on hunger, has appeared to win a public relations victory over the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba. The pope opened the U.N. meeting by sharply criticizing embargoes, saying they cause the most harm to the vulnerable. He was joined by Third World leaders and the Europeans, who complained that their industries are being unfairly penalized by the United States for doing business in Cuba.

Castro even dined at the home of Gianni Agnelli, the chairman of Fiat and perhaps the most powerful symbol of Italian capitalism. Agnelli is an outspoken opponent of U.S. penalties against companies doing business in the island nation.

The Cuban leader arrived at St. Peter’s Square in a heavily armed, 18-vehicle motorcade on a damp, grey morning. One of the vehicles had submachine guns poking out of its sunroof and windows as it wheeled into the piazza.

Castro, the leader of one of the last remaining communist countries, donned a business suit with a white shirt and tie rather than his more familiar military fatigues.

Upon seeing the pope, Castro bowed and said,”It is a great honor for me to be here today.”The pope thanked him for the visit, and the two left their aides in the corridor.

Castro brought the pope a piece of abstract art, and the pope presented the Cuban leader with gold pontificate medallions.

As the two men were set to part ways, Castro said,”Holy Father, I hope to see you soon in Cuba.”The pope accepted the invitation and offered his blessing for all the Cuban people.

After the papal meeting, Castro met for 45 minutes with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano and the two discussed”more in depth several themes concerning the life of Catholics in Cuba, as well as activity of bishops and priests and religious in performing their religious and charitable mission,”a Vatican statement said.

Castro was later led on tours of St. Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. He also lunched at the Vatican with senior clergy, including Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, assistant secretary of State and Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. Both men have led missions to Cuba in the past several years to improve relations, which have remained unbroken, if chilly, for most of the 37 years since Castro came to power.

The pope has visited every country in Spanish-speaking Latin America except Cuba, and he has long wanted to make a pilgrimage there to rekindle religious life and strengthen the church’s hand in social affairs.

Castro and his revolutionary band, saw the Catholic Church, especially the hierarchy, as an arm of the ruling oligarchy, which the 1959 revolution sought to overthrow. Relations between church and state have been rocky since then.

In a deft political move in 1994, the pope named Jaime Ortega y Alamino as the first Cuban cardinal in 30 years. Ortega has managed to carve out a delicate but improved relationship with the government.

Since Ortega’s selection, Cuban-Vatican contacts have been stepped up, humanitarian aid through Catholic charitable groups has increased and government persecution of Catholic religious leaders has declined.

In addition, the government allowed the church to set up a Commission for Justice and Peace to gather and disclose reports of human rights violations.

In his meeting with the pope, Castro, whose government assumed control of church property after the revolution, thanked the pontiff for the”activity of the church in Cuba, mainly in education and welfare,”Navarro-Valls said.

The Vatican would like to get a solid foothold in Cuba so that the church could become a strong voice when Castro leaves power.

The Catholic Church is also anxious to win converts among competing Christian religions, such as Protestant Pentecostals who have had modest success in winning adherents in recent years.

Cuba has only one priest for every 20,000 declared Catholics, the least densely populated priesthood in Central or South America. But the number of priests has risen steadily in the past few years, as has the number of students studying for the priesthood.

Cubans are also returning or being drawn to the church. Baptisms, Mass attendance and church weddings and funerals are all increasing, according to statistics.

Castro’s invitation to the pope, and the pope’s acceptance, will undoubtedly have significant repercussions for both men. Such a visit could enhance Castro’s stature, and possibly put pressure on the United States to ease its tough economic embargo. It could showcase some of the improvements he’s made in Cuban society, such as literacy and health _ both endangered by the embargo.

But it implies certain risks. Castro will have to amend the country’s laws to allow for open-air Masses and religious conventions. His record on human rights will also come under more scrutiny, which could force him to provide more manuevering room for dissidents.”The visit could be rather important in terms of the isolation of Cuba,”said the Rev. Angelo Maachi, a specialist on Cuba who writes for the Catholic Italian journal La Civilta Cattolica.”The regime is still Marxist and the consequences of that are limits on the liberties of the church and its people. What comes next is unclear.” (STORY MAY END HERE. OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS.)

On Monday, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev marked his fourth meeting with the pope. They first met in January 1989, in the midst of Perestroika and the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The presence of Gorbachev at the Vatican, whether or not a shrewd Vatican ploy to coincide with Castro’s appearance, was a startling reminder of Eastern Europe’s transition toward democracy and Cuba’s refusal to bend.

In fact, Gorbachev’s presence seemed so routine that it was only briefly mentioned in Italian press reports.

After the meeting Monday, Gorbachev said,”I have the highest opinion of the activities of the Holy Father and for his positions in defense of the rights of man and liberties.” Gorbachev called the U.S. embargo an”anachronism that should be cut right away. I remain convinced that when the embargo is lifted, Castro will proceed with democratization in his country.”

MJP END HEILBRONNER