POPE'S STAND ON CUBA EMBARGO ANGERS EXILES SOME CONSIDER MESSAGE TO BE SLAP IN THE FACE
By Madeline Baro Diaz and Vanessa Bauza Staff Writers\The Associated Press contributed to this report South Florida Sun-Sentinel
MIAMI
When Pope John Paul II speaks, millions of people around the world pay close attention, but when he reiterated his opposition to the U.S. embargo on Cuba over the weekend, Cuban-Americans in South Florida were outraged.
This week, telephone lines for Spanish-language radio programs lit up as upset callers aimed to vent their frustration with the pope. They were angry that he criticized the four-decades-old embargo during a Saturday meeting with Raul Roa Kouri, Havana's new ambassador to the Vatican.
"The Holy See wishes ardently that the obstacles that currently impede free communication and exchange between Cuba and the international community may be overcome as soon as possible, thus consolidating, by means of a respectful and open dialogue among all, the conditions necessary for genuine development," the pope said.
For some observers, the statement came as no surprise. The Vatican has repeatedly opposed economic embargoes designed to achieve political purposes. But for some Cuban exiles, many of them Catholic, the pontiff's message was a slap in the face.
"It's nothing different than the same attitude that the pope has had in regards to Cuba, which is really sad because it's not the same attitude he had toward Poland or toward communism [in other countries]," said Cuban exile activist Ninoska Perez Castellon. "It's really disappointing."
Alfredo Mesa, executive director of the Cuban-American National Foundation, another staunch supporter of the embargo, said his organization respectfully disagrees with the pope's position.
However, Mesa said the pope has been helpful on Cuba. He cited the pontiff's 1998 visit to Cuba, a trip that made the Catholic Church on the island important for the dissident movement, as an example.
"Ever since his visit, it has been a place where people seek strength to seek liberty and to fight for the freedom of Cuba," Mesa said.
In Havana, the Catholic Church has long advocated not only a more open engagement between Cuba and the international community, but also constructive dialogue between the Cuban government and the internal opposition movement.
As the most powerful non-governmental organization in Cuba, the Catholic Church has often been buffeted with criticism from those who feel it does not do enough to foster political change. Meanwhile the Cuban government has at times accused it of overstepping its religious mission.
In Havana, Gisela Delgado is one of a small group of wives of political prisoners who attend church every Sunday and sometimes stage modest protests in support of their husbands' freedom.
She interpreted the pope's statement as showing solidarity with the Cuban people, not with one government over another.
"What the church seeks is a dialogue, and I agree with that," said Delgado, whose husband, Hector Palacios, is serving a 25-year prison sentence. "The church does not seek to place itself alongside one political [group] or another ... but to defend human beings."
For some, the pope's message struck a chord. Silvia Wilhelm, a Cuban-American anti-embargo activist in Miami, said his comments were on target.
"I think, once again, the pope is looking at this issue from a humanitarian perspective," Wilhelm said. "[The embargo] is immoral."
But on Spanish-language radio in South Florida, the pope's comments sparked a firestorm. Some callers had strong words for the Catholic Church and some said they might stop attending church altogether.
But Perez Castellon, who is Catholic, said quitting the church is not the answer, a sentiment that she repeated to a caller on her afternoon radio show on Radio Mambi, 710 AM.
Mesa, who is also a lifelong Catholic, also said the Pope's opinion on the embargo will not shake his faith.
"I love my church, but on this issue the church doesn't speak for me," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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