Pope Benedict XVI urged tens of thousands of Cubans gathered for an open-air mass to "build a renewed and open society," at the start of his visit to the Communist-ruled country.
The pontiff -- making the first papal visit to Cuba
in 14 years -- is seeking to bolster close church-state ties here while
also urging authorities in the Americas' only one-party Communist state
to embrace change.
Benedict, who arrived on Monday
after a visit to predominantly Roman Catholic Mexico, also hopes to
encourage new and renewed faith in the mainly secular island nation.
"I appeal to you to reinvigorate
your faith ... and armed with peace, forgiveness and understanding, that
you may strive to build a renewed and open society, a better society,
one more worthy of humanity," the pontiff said at the mass in Santiago on Monday, beneath soaring white metal church arches.
The 84-year-old Benedict was helped up to his seat and smiled as the crowd sang and chanted to welcome him.
President Raul Castro -- who had earlier greeted the pope at the
airport in Santiago, Cuba's second largest city -- was seated in the
front row, sporting a white guayabera tropical shirt.The crowd of an estimated 200,000 sang hymns, some raising their arms and joining hands. Others folded their hands in prayer, listening intently to the pope's sermon.
The pontiff is working to try to expand the flock in Cuba, which was officially atheist until the early 1990s.
"I carry in my heart the just aspirations and legitimate desires of all Cubans, wherever they may be, their sufferings and their joys, their concerns and their noblest desires," the pope said earlier in southeastern Santiago.
"I am convinced that Cuba, at this moment of particular importance in its history, is already looking to the future, and thus is striving to renew and broaden its horizons."
Marxism "no longer corresponds to
reality," Benedict said last week as he set off on his first trip to
Spanish-speaking nations in Latin America, calling for "new models" in
Cuba.
Cuba's leadership, however, says democracy already exists here, and rejects the idea of a Western multiparty system.
Before the mass, Benedict rode his white Mercedes Popemobile down the streets of Santiago, as enthusiastic crowds waved yellow and white Vatican and blue, white and red Cuban flags to greet him.
"Cuba has good relations with all religious institutions in our country," Castro said as he welcomed the pope.
Authorities meanwhile have rounded
up at least 150 dissidents in the past few days to thwart any possible
demonstrations during the two-city papal visit, the head of an
opposition group told AFP in Havana.
Benedict did not directly refer to dissidents, but appeared to hint
at their absence during the mass, saying: "I cannot forget all those
who, for reasons of illness, advanced age or for other motives, are not
able to join us."On Tuesday, Benedict was to visit the Our Lady of Charity shrine outside Santiago before flying to the capital Havana, where he was to celebrate mass in its sprawling Revolution Square on Wednesday.
John Paul II's 1998 trip was the first papal visit to Cuba. Expectations were high then that the charismatic Polish pontiff might help spark change in Cuba after decades of centrally-run government, economy and media.
He is credited with starting a steady thaw in relations between local Catholic authorities and the government.
But more than a decade later, despite John Paul II's calls for Cuba to "open up to the world," the country remains isolated, its state-run economy feeble. Most Cubans earn less than $20 a month.
The Catholic church has nonetheless emerged as the most important non-state actor in Cuba, even mediating prisoner releases. But it does not have its own media or school systems, as it would like.
Benedict has no plans to meet with members of the Cuban opposition.
The pope "knows the Cuban reality" and whether "he meets with the opponents or not does not mean he is unaware" of their situation, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia of Santiago Garcia said Saturday.
"Pushing hard and insisting on
(Benedict) meeting with the Ladies in White (or other dissidents) could
complicate matters for the church," added Michael Shifter, president of
the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington.
"It is very difficult. And they
have to strike this balance. ... They don't want to jeopardize the
gains" the church has made in recent years, he added.
Cuba's Catholics account for about
10 percent of the country's population of 11 million. Evangelical
Protestants are making inroads here, but most Cubans identify with
Afro-Cuban belief systems, such as Santeria and Palo Monte.
source :yahoo
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