Cardinal Bertone says Pope's Cuba trip should help democracy
(March 23, 2012) The Vatican's top official has dismissed suggestions that Cuba's
Communist government could exploit Pope Benedict XVI's trip as a propaganda tool,
saying the visit should help promote democracy on the island. Vatican's Secretary
of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said he expects an outpouring of support for the
Pope because he is the head of the Catholic Church and that the visit will only make
things better for the Cuban Church. “I don't believe the visit will be exploited
by the government,'' the Vatican’s No. 2 told the Turin daily ‘La Stampa’ in an interview
published on Thursday. “In fact, I think the government and Cuban people will do
their utmost to welcome the Pope and show him the esteem and trust that the leader
of the Catholic Church deserves,” he said. Pope Benedict flew from Rome on Friday
for Mexico from where he will fly to Cuba on Monday, before returning to Rome on Thursday.
This is the 84-year old German Pope’s first visits to Mexico and Cuba. Cuba's single-party,
Communist government never outlawed religion, but it expelled priests and closed religious
schools upon Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba in 1959. Tensions eased in the early
1990s when the government removed references to atheism in the constitution and let
believers of all faiths join the Communist Party. Pope John Paul's historic visit
to Cuba 1998 further warmed relations. Cardinal Bertone said that after 14 years
since Blessed John Paul’s visit there's no doubt that the current visit of Pope Benedict
will help the process of development toward democracy and will open new spaces for
the Church's presence and activity.