Pope Benedict XVI urged tens of thousands of Cubans gathered for an open-air Mass to “build a renewed and open society” at the start of his visit to the country.
The pontiff — making the first papal visit to Cuba in 14 years — is seeking to bolster close church-state ties here, while also urging authorities in the Americas’ only one-party state to embrace change.
Benedict, who arrived on Monday after a visit to predominantly Roman Catholic Mexico, also hopes to encourage new and renewed faith in the mainly secular island nation.
“I appeal to you to reinvigorate your faith ... 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,” the pontiff said at the Mass in Santiago on Monday, beneath soaring white metal church arches.
The 84-year-old Benedict was helped up to his seat and smiled as the crowd sang and chanted to welcome him.
Cuban President Raul Castro — who had earlier greeted the pope at the airport in Santiago, Cuba’s second-largest city — was seated in the front row, sporting a white guayabera tropical shirt.
The crowd of an estimated 200,000 sang hymns, some raising their arms and joining hands. Others folded their hands in prayer, listening intently to the pope’s sermon.
The pontiff is working to try to expand the flock in Cuba, which was officially atheist until the early 1990s.
“I carry in my heart the just aspirations and legitimate desires of all Cubans, wherever they may be, their sufferings and their joys, their concerns and their noblest desires,” the pope said earlier in southeastern Santiago. “I am convinced that Cuba, at this moment of particular importance in its history, is already looking to the future and thus is striving to renew and broaden its horizons.”
Marxism “no longer corresponds to reality,” Benedict said last week as he set off on his first trip to Spanish-speaking nations in Latin America, calling for “new models” in Cuba.
Before the Mass, Benedict rode his white Mercedes Popemobile down the streets of Santiago, as enthusiastic crowds waved yellow and white Vatican and blue, white and red Cuban flags to greet him.
“Cuba has good relations with all religious institutions in our country,” Castro said as he welcomed the pope.
Meanwhile, authorities have rounded up at least 150 dissidents in the past few days to thwart any possible demonstrations during the two-city papal visit, the head of an opposition group said in Havana.
Benedict did not directly refer to dissidents, but appeared to hint at their absence during the Mass, saying: “I cannot forget all those who, for reasons of illness, advanced age or for other motives, are not able to join us.”
Cuba’s Catholics account for about 10 percent of the country’s population of 11 million. Evangelical Protestants are making inroads here, but most Cubans identify with Afro Cuban belief systems, such as Santeria and Palo Monte.
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