HAVANA — Pope Benedict XVI demanded greater freedom for the Catholic Church in Cuba during Mass before hundreds of thousands of people Wednesday in the shrine of the island’s communist revolution, denouncing “fanaticism” that tries to impose its truth on others.
Benedict’s unusually politicized homily was a not-so-subtle jab at Cuba’s leadership before a vast crowd in Revolution Plaza.
But he also used plain language to urge an end to Cuba’s isolation, a reference to the 50-year U.S. economic embargo and the inability of 11 American presidents and brothers Fidel and Raul Castro to forge peace.
“Cuba and the world need change, but this will occur only if each one is in a position to seek the truth and chooses the way of love, sowing reconciliation and fraternity,” he said.
With the country’s leadership listening from front-row seats, Benedict issued his strongest denunciation of religious intolerance yet in Cuba, referring to the biblical account of how people persecuted by the Babylonian king “preferred to face death by fire rather than betray their conscience and their faith.”
He said people find freedom when they seek the truth that Christianity offers.
“On the other hand, there are those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism. They close themselves up in ’their truth’ and try to impose it on others,” he said from the altar in the shadow of the image of Cuba’s revolution hero Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
How much the pope’s message resonated with ordinary Cubans in the plaza or those listening on state television is unclear.
Many in the crowd had trouble hearing him over the loudspeakers, and others said it was hard to understand the dense biblical message delivered by the pope in a soft voice.
“I don’t understand this Mass at all. I don’t have an education in these things and I know nothing about religion,” said Mario Mendez, a 19-year-old communications student. “On top of that, I can’t hear anything.”
Benedict didn’t cite the government by name, but later in his homily urged Cuban authorities to let the church more freely preach its message and educate its young in the faith in schools and universities - something that has been forbidden since the Castros came to power a half-century ago.
“It must be said with joy that in Cuba steps have been taken to enable the church to carry out her essential mission of expressing her faith openly and publicly,” he said. “Nonetheless this must continue forward” for the good of Cuban society.
Shortly after the Mass, Benedict met for about half an hour with Fidel Castro, a Jesuit-educated altar boy-turned-revolutionary leader whose 1998 hosting of Pope John Paul II marked a turning point in the church’s relations with Cuba.
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