Monday, December 26, 2011

The hidden whys of the Pope's visit to Cuba

The Pope has not indicated the exact dates of his visit to Cuba in the homily of the Mass celebrated on Monday, December 12th in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and for the bicentenary of independence for several South American countries.   

But the archbishop of Cuba, Dionysus Garcia Ibanez, said that a tentative program is already being drafted.  

A Vatican envoy is in Cuba these days to establish the dates and locations for the various celebrations.
 
The prelate said that Benedict XVI will visit the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, and it will be in that location that he will meet with Cuban Bishops. 

In 1998 John Paul II had presided over an outdoor Mass in the square Antonio Maceo; the event will be repeated on the other side of that same square.
 
It is very likely that, following the desire expressed by the Cuban Bishops, the central moment of the papal visit, from a liturgical point of view, will be Sunday, March 25th, the feast of the Incarnation of the Word. On this feast, which could take place at the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, "Mary has a place, but Jesus is at the center”, said the Cuban Bishop Emilio Aranguren of Holbin to Zenit, recalling the motto for the Jubilee: “To Jesus through Mary: charity unites us”.   

The overall visit to Cuba and Mexico should take place between March 23rd and 29th, although there is still no official confirmation.
 
But there are many things at play in the visit by Benedict XVI, the second ever made by a Pope in the "Pearl of the Caribbean".   

The Cuban Church has been insisting for some time on its biblical significance of the preparations and outcome of this 400 year jubilee.  And we can recall the biblical jubilee called for freeing the slaves, it is a time when you forgive sins and prisoners are released. 

The visit of Benedict XVI may be accompanied and highlighted by an act of clemency by the Cuban government for groups of prisoners, especially women and the sick.
 
After the visit of John Paul II in 1998 the Fidel’s government proclaimed the day of the Nativity as a day of celebration. For the papal visit that is being prepared close to Holy Week, a gesture of good will may be repeated. 

And this time Good Friday could be public holiday again, as it once was on the island.  And Benedict could give new impetus to the process of beatification and canonization of the Servant of God Félix Varela y Morales, who would thus become the third Blessed of the Cuban Church. 

His name often appears in papal speeches reported in Cuba, and his commitment to culture and the country’s independence certainly do not make him unwelcome to the government.
 
The first invitation for the Pope came with the ad limina visits by Cuban bishops in 2008. 

And work started on the sanctuary of El Cobre, creating a way for pilgrims, “El camino de la Virgen”, which includes various “stops” in places that are part of the history of the original image of the Virgin after its discovery in 1612 until the present sanctuary, located about 15 km from Santiago de Cuba.
 
They are the fifteen miles that Benedict XVI will travel as a pilgrim to arrive at La Caridad del Cobre.  And of course this visit, apart from the religious significance, also has very important political implications. 

So much so that the Government of Havana sees it with great favor. The island's economic and social situation is very major, if not serious; and even if Venezuela had initially taken the place of the Soviet Union as the island’s main partner, Cuba has now shifted its balance towards Beijing. 

Trade with China rose increased from 440 million dollars in 2001 to 1.83 billion in 2010; the Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping came to the island in June to sign several bilateral agreements, and a Confucius Institute which had just been established in Havana found itself with over 500 students wanting to study Mandarin.
 
Raul Castro and his collaborators see the Chinese model as a possible example for the island. And they're trying to start an economic reform with very large social risks. Havana is pointing to a gradual change in its economy, along the lines of the Chinese model: the launch of a free economy, in a Marxist type political context. 

The People's Republic of China is now Cuba’s the most important partner. 

On November 15th, Han Qide, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in his visit to Cuba said: “The Parliaments of Cuba and China maintain excellent relations and our scope is to strengthen these constraints even further”.  

Han Qide, who also chairs the Association for Peace and Disarmament of the Chinese people, was on a visit invited by his counterpart Jaime Crombet, vice president of the National Assembly of the People's Power. 

In any event, the system also needs a social safety net that is represented by the Church, before proceeding more firmly on the path of economic reform which will make the already difficult lives of many islanders even more difficult.