Thu Jan 3, 2008 11:35am EST
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The most senior official in the Vatican after
the Pope said he hopes to meet Cuba's acting president Raul Castro
during a February visit to the communist-run island.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, said his trip
was at least partly related to commemorations of the 10th anniversary of
late Pope John Paul II's landmark trip to Cuba in 1998.
"I am preparing a trip to Cuba in the month of February. I hope to meet
the brother of Fidel Castro, who now leads the country," Bertone told
the prominent Italian Catholic magazine, Famiglia Cristiana.
His interview was released to media before publication in the January 6
edition.
After the 1959 revolution in Cuba, Catholics faced the expulsion of
priests and decades of official atheism.
The island's Christians were greatly cheered by the visit of John Paul
II, who met President Fidel Castro and urged Cuba to allow more
political freedom.
Bertone did not say if he also hoped to speak with Fidel, who has not
been seen in public since handing power to his brother Raul after
undergoing surgery more than 17 months ago.
Bertone said he planned to bless a monument that Cubans were going to
inaugurate in honor of the late Pope's visit. He called the inauguration
"a positive event".
The Catholic Church is the only major institution in Cuba that is not
controlled by the state. It has not been allowed to build new churches,
play a role in education or gain access to radio broadcasting.
About 60 percent of Cubans are baptized by the Catholic Church, though
the number of practicing Catholics is low.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart, editing by Tim Pearce)
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0314086820080103?sp=true
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