Pope Lands In Cuba

In a mission to renew the faith in Latin America’s least Catholic country, Pope Benedict XVI landed safely in Cuba today.

The pope was welcomed at the airport in the eastern city of Santiago by Cuban President Raul Castro. The ceremony was tightly controlled with the public being kept away, quite the opposite from Mexico, where multitudes of people lined up to greet the religious icon.

Benedict’s stay in Cuba is scheduled for three days. The pope was scheduled to rally tens of thousands of Catholics at an outdoor Mass in the city’s main square and then spend the night beside the shrine of the Virgin of Charity Cobre, Cuba’s patron saint.

Unlike Mexico, the welcome in Cuba is likely to be less fervent. Only about 10 percent of the population are practicing Catholics. The government is trying to help bring out crowds by providing special transportation and giving residents a paid day off to attend the Mass in Santiago, and another in Havanah on Wednesday.

Last week, when he began his trip to the Americas, Benedict told reporters:

“It is evident that Marxist ideology as it was conceived no longer responds to reality.”

The pope also exhorted Cubans to “find new models, with patience, and in a constructive way.”

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez responded to the pope’s words with restraint:

“We consider the exchange of ideas to be useful. Our people have deep convictions developed over the course of our history … Cuba will listen with all respect to his holiness.”

The Vatican has said the pope has no plans to meet with the dissidents of the area, or with the leaders of the island’s dominant Afro-Cuban Santeria faith. There is a possibility that there may be a face-to-face meeting with “El Comandante” Fidel Castro, who stepped down in 2006 but remains the father of the revolution, though it is unconfirmed. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is receiving radiation therapy for his cancer, also arrived Saturday.

According to Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, there have been no plans whether the pope might meet with Chavez while in Cuba.

Take a look at the video for the Pope’s statements regarding Marxism in Cuba being outdated and the start of his trip in Mexico just days ago.

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