When the Brazilian friar Frei Betto met Fidel Castro in 1980 in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua, the two had a dense conversation about religious freedom in Cuba that led to a bestselling book that helped pave the way for a church-state rapprochement, and eventually, the visit by Pope John Paul II.

That book laid bare Fidel's complex relationship with the Catholic faith of his childhood in 1940s Cuba, where as a child he was educated by Spanish Jesuit priests at an elite private school in the island's southern city, Santiago.

Betto, a liberationist Dominican sympathetic to the Cuban revolution, told Castro in Managua that his communist state had, in effect, three options. It could be hostile to the Catholic Church — in which case it simply made the case for the U.S. embargo — indifferent to it, or in dialogue with it along with other churches and faiths.

Castro accepted that the third option was the right one, and admitted that he hadn't met a Catholic bishop in 16 years. While the revolutionary government had never broken with the Holy See, it was, in effect, a confessional state — officially atheist.

In the course of the 1980s, Castro moved the revolution slowly towards recognizing the Catholic Church's presence in Cuba, meeting with bishops, and allowing, if not religious freedom, then at least freedom of worship.

When Betto in 1985 published his Fidel y la Religión, it went on to sell 1.3m copies in Cuba alone, and helped create a new conversation about faith on the island.

It revealed that Fidel had been profoundly marked by a deeply Catholic childhood, raised by a fervent mother who prayed daily and lit candles to the saints, as well as by equally devout aunts and uncles. Continue reading

Sources

• Austin Ivereigh in Crux
• Image: ABC News

In their old age, however, they have brought the Church in from the cold and are gracious and experienced hosts for regular papal visits.

When Pope Francis lands in Cuba on Sept. 19, he will be the third pontiff in a row to visit the Communist-run island.

His three-night stay highlights the new relationship between Church and state in Cuba and a marked softening of the Castros' stance toward the religion they grew up with and then fought.

In return, the Church has become less confrontational and it played a major role in securing last year's rapprochement between Cuba and the United States.

It still wants the return of Church properties occupied after the revolution but it has adopted a strategy of maintaining a fluid dialogue with the government rather than risking conflict.

Fidel Castro, 89 years old and retired, has repeatedly praised Christian values and counts as a close friend the Brazilian priest and intellectual Frei Betto.

Raul Castro, 84 and his brother's successor as president, has gone even further, opening talks with Church leaders inside Cuba and making concessions such as freeing dozens of political prisoners and allowing religious processions. Continue reading

Popes, after all, are not only spiritual leaders, they are representatives of the oldest continuous absolute monarchy in the world, which traces back to the Apostle Peter two millennia ago: The Holy See has been engaging in diplomacy far longer than any modern state has been in existence. On account of that history, and because of its spiritual authority, the Vatican has a rare sort of international clout, one that doesn't depend on armies or a gross national product.

Pope Benedict XVI cannot be accused of shirking his responsibility to engage with world affairs.

But it is equally clear that he has not been inclined to use his diplomatic power to promote political freedom.

On his recent trip, Benedict could have advocated human rights, or protection for Cuban dissidents, many of whom are Catholic themselves. But on all these issues, he largely kept silent.

Indeed, when it comes to papal visits and speeches, this pope has focused his diplomacy on ensuring the Catholic Church's growth, even when it requires keeping silent about flagrant abuses of human rights.

Continue reading: What Pope Benedict got wrong in Cuba

Image: The Telegraph

Catholic hawks at the time believed that Pope Paul VI's Ostpolitik, meaning constructive engagement with Marxism, was finally dead and buried.

Today, those folks probably feel trapped in a B-grade slasher film in which the guy with the hockey mask and chainsaw keeps springing back to life. That's because since his election as pope, Benedict XVI has seemed less notable for his anti-communist audacity than his appetite for détente.

Benedict's March 26-28 visit to Cuba, in which he met both the Castro brothers but none of the pro-democracy dissidents, offered the latest case in point.

One sign of the psychological dissonance: American Catholic writer William Doino posted a March 27 essay for First Things under the telling headline, "Has the Church Gone Soft on Communism?" Doino's basic answer was no, insisting that Benedict XVI is not an appeaser, but he also suggested that church officials may require some "fraternal correction" about their soft touch on Cuba.

Others were far less polite.

"I'm exceedingly disappointed," said U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican. (Diaz-Balart comes from a distinguished Cuban family, and his aunt was Fidel Castro's first wife.)

"[Pope Benedict] refused to meet with any members of the opposition," Diaz-Balart told The Huffington Post. "He refused to speak out in any real way against forced abortions. He refused to speak out against the human trafficking that is sponsored by the regime. He refused to condemn the human rights violations in any meaningful way. And it cannot be said that he's not aware of those issues ... He is aware of it because a lot of us have made him aware of it." Continue reading

Sources

• John L Allen Jr in National Catholic Reporter
• Image: The Hibernia Times

Minutes before Benedict departed from Cuba on March 28, President Raul Castro told the Pope of his desire to declare Friday, April 6 a holiday "as an exception, and in consideration to His Holiness and the happy results of this transcendental visit to our country."

Authorities will decide in the future whether the holiday will become permanent.

Spokesman for the Vatian, Fr Federico Lombardi SJ welcomed the decision, saying he hoped it would lead to greater participation in Easter celebrations.

"The fact that the Cuban authorities quickly welcomed the Holy Father's request to President Raul Castro, declaring next Good Friday a non-work day, is certainly a very positive sign," said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.

"The Holy See hopes that this will encourage participation in the religious celebrations and joyous Easter festivities, and that following the visit of the Holy Father will continue to bring the desired fruits for the good of the church and all Cubans."

Cubans said they were thrilled, if slightly incredulous, to hear of the day off.

"I'm happy I don't have to work, but really I don't understand any of this," said Roberto Blanco, 38. "First they tell us we have to work harder to get out of the economic crisis, and now they give us a day off. The pope comes and we don't work? I don't get it."

Mirta Salgado, a 51-year-old office worker, acknowledged not being at all religious, but said it was better not to over analyze these things.

"The things that happen in my country are incredible. After 50 years of telling us the church is bad, now they say it is good, and we get Good Friday off to boot," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I'm not religious, not Catholic, not anything ... But whatever, at least this Friday I won't be working!"

Sources

• CNS
• Associated Press
• Image: International Business Times

Noting that John Paul II asked a similar request of Fidel Castro about Christmas and it was restored as a national holiday, Vatican Spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ said, "Of course, this is a matter for the Cuban authorities, and we hope for a response in the not too distant future."

Lombardi said Pope Benedict raised the matter of Cuban dissidents, especially those in prison, but did not have details on the specifics.

Just three days after saying that communism no longer works in Cuba, the 84-year-old German pope delivered a carefully worded homily at Mass that was less direct in criticising Cuba's one-party system but included some thinly-veiled phrases addressing its human rights record.

"I appeal to you to reinvigorate your faith, that you live in Christ and for Christ, and armed with peace, forgiveness and understanding, that you may strive to build a renewed and open society, a better society, one more worthy of humanity, and which better reflects the goodness of God," he said.

In an incident just as Benedict entered Santiago's main square to celebrate Mass, a man shouted "down with the revolution" and was led away by security agents.

And a few hours earlier, before they were due to attend the Pope's Mass, Alejandrina Garcia de la Rivas and Laura Maria Labrada Pollan representatives of the relatives of former political prisoners "Ladies in White," were arrested by Cuban police.

The previous evening, de la Rivas and Pollan had given an interview to the Catholic News Service.

Sources:

• CNA
• CNS
• The Telegraph
• Image: Fox News

The endangered crocodile was smuggled into Italy by an Italian tourist and was captured in the thief's kitchen by wildlife experts.

Blessed by the Pope's chief of staff Monsignor Giovanni Angelo Becciu, and named Benedictus, the croc was given a send off at Rome Zoo.

A spokesman for the Rome Zoo said the Italian tourist was lucky it's no longer in his kitchen.

'It can grow to more than twice its current size and can be aggressive and quite dangerous,' he said.

Meanwhile as other preparations are made for this historic trip, Vatican Spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ confirmed Pope Benedict XVI is available to meet Fidel Castro should he ask to meet with the pontiff when he visits Cuba later this month.

The 85-year-old Cuban leader has made only rare public appearances in recent months.

He was last seen in photographs released by Cuban state media March 2nd with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, who was recovering from tumor surgery in Cuba.

Benedict arrives in Cuba from Mexico on March 26th.

Sources

• Metro News
• Washington Post
• CathNews
• Image: Red Dog Report

The chatter in Rome is that Castro is preparing to be readmitted to the Church when Pope Benedict visits Cuba next month.

Speculation went viral as two Italian daily newspapers, La Repubblica and La Stampa reported that the committed revolutionary atheist and ailing octogenarian had 'seen the light'.

Castro's daughter, Alina Fernandez told La Repubblica that lately her father had "come closer to religion and to God."

The reports however have met with skepticism.

"Relations between religion and politics have long been something of an anomaly in Cuba," says Riordan Roett, a Latin America scholar at Johns Hopkins. "But conversion and absolution? That's pretty farfetched."

Nor does Brazil's Frei Betto, a Franciscan friar and close friend of Castro's, pay much heed to the suggestion that the Cuban revolutionary is ready to bow his head. "In my opinion, he's an agnostic," says Betto.

While Castro famously cancelled Christmas as a national holiday in Cuba, a turning point was the papacy of Pope John Paul II with whom, it is reported, Castro "had a fantastic chemistry," and it was during this time that outright repression of religion gave way to a tense, but pragmatic coexistence between clergy and the comandantes.

Earlier in the month, Reuters' reported that Pope Benedict wanted to see Fidel Castro when he visits Cuba in March. At the time the meeting was still pending the health of the communist dictator.

Benedict is still only scheduled to meet the younger Castro, President Raul Castro, 80, who is President of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers.

Sources

• The Daily Beast
• Reuters
• Image: Randy Thomas