Pope Francis waves from his popemobile as he leaves the airport and arrives in Havana
Pope Francis urged the Cuban and U.S. governments to push ahead on their newly forged path toward normal relations, saying they should “develop all its possibilities” as he arrived Saturday on the first leg of a trip to the Cold War foes that papal diplomacy helped bring together.
Standing on the tarmac of Havana’s Jose Marti airport, Francis called the resumption of full diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba this year an “example of reconciliation for the entire world.”
The pope wrote a personal appeal to Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro and hosted their delegations at a secret meeting at the Vatican last year to seal a deal after 18 months of closed-door negotiations. Since then, the two leaders have reopened embassies in each other’s countries, held a personal meeting and at least two phone calls and launched a process aimed at normalizing ties in fields ranging from trade to tourism to telecommunications.
Standing with Cuba’s president by his side, Francis said the developments over recent months have given him hope.
“I urge political leaders to persevere on this path and to develop all its possibilities as a proof of the high service which they are called to carry out on behalf of the peace and well-being of their peoples, of all America, and as an example of reconciliation for the entire world,” he said.
Castro blasted the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba as “cruel, immoral and illegal” and called for it to end. But he also again thanked the pope for his role in fostering “the first step” in a process of normalizing relations.
The Vatican has long opposed the embargo on the grounds that it hurts ordinary Cubans most. On the eve of the visit, the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, made clear the Holy See hopes the rapprochement will eventually result in the lifting of sanctions. The Obama administration also called on Congress to lift the embargo, and on Friday it unveiled a new round of executive actions that carve out exceptions to the sanctions, such as allowing U.S. businesses to open offices in Cuba, letting U.S. residents send unlimited cash to Cubans and permitting virtually all U.S. pleasure boats to travel to the island without a special license.
In his remarks, Francis gave a friendly greeting to Fidel Castro, asking his brother Raul to send the 89-year-old revolutionary “my sentiments of particular respect and consideration.”
In the same breath, Francis also gave an apparent nod to Cuban dissidents, who have complained that he wouldn’t be sitting down with them during his visit. He said he wanted to embrace “all those who, for various reasons, I will not be able to meet” — as well as Cubans elsewhere in the world. The Vatican spokesman said the pope’s words were certainly meant as an expression of greeting to all Cubans, dissidents included.
“This visit is like a breath of hope blowing over Cuba,” because of the role that the pope played in the reestablishment of relations with the U.S., retiree Diego Carrera said. Michael Weissenstein and Nicole Winfield, Havana, AP
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