Cardinal Ouellet: Faith key to reconciliation of all Cubans
Pope Benedict XVI was scheduled to celebrate mass in Havana’s Revolution Square on
Wednesday, concluding his two-nation tour of Latin America. Several hundred thousand
people were expected to attend the liturgy, which takes place in a place made famous
for being for hours-long speeches by former Cuban president Fidel Castro.
The
Pope’s trip to Mexico and Cuba is his second journey to Latin America. He visited
Brazil in 2007, where he addressed CELAM, Latin American Episcopal Conference.
The
President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS,
said the Pope’s visit shows his love for the region.
“It’s a message for the
whole world, how much the Catholic Church is at the heart of the spiritual and cultural
identity of the continent,” he said. “The Pope’s visit is certainly a factor of reinforcing
this identity, and bringing it to its core, to the Person of Jesus Christ.”
Cardinal
Ouellet, who also serves as the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, said the
people of the region need this reinforcement in their faith.
“They are facing
difficult problems – poverty, violence, challenges of the families - so he invited
them to turn to God, and to ask for purification of the heart,” he told Vatican Radio.
“It’s an extraordinary message. The heart of Christ is not a heart for domination,
it’s for service its for real love and solidarity.”
He also commented on changes
he has seen in Cuba.
“In Cuba, there is a springtime of faith,” he said. “There
is a opening to the Catholic Church and to the work of charity, but the Pope insisted
on the faith. Revitalizing the faith is key to the reconciliation of all Cubans,
for them to really work together and to look forward and to reshape their identity
out of the tradition of the Catholic Church which is also part of this culture.”
Listen
to the full interview by Philippa Hitchen with Cardinal Ouellet: