Pope plans to duck dissidents in Cuba, spawning criticism

Pope plans to duck dissidents in Cuba, spawning criticism
By Andrea Rodriguez and Michael Weissenstein | AP September 18 at 8:26 AM

HAVANA — Pope Francis plans to meet with Cuba's president and its
priests, its young and its sick, its churchgoers and its seminarians as
he travels around the island starting Saturday. But not with its dissidents.

The absence on Francis' agenda of any meeting with the political
opposition has sparked bitter critiques from dissidents who say they
feel let down by an institution they believe should help push for
greater freedom in Cuba.

"He should exert more pressure," said Antonio Rodiles, head of the
hardline group Estado de SATS. "In many cases political systems have
come under international pressure that has resulted in change, and
that's what needs to happen with Cuba."

Papal observers say it's likely Francis will speak strongly to Cubans
about the need for greater freedom in their country and may speak to
President Raul Castro in private about the same topic. But in shying
from meetings with dissidents, the pope is hewing largely to the Cuban
Catholic Church's strategy of advocating for change within bounds laid
out by the communist state rather than pushing the system to change as
John Paul II did in Eastern Europe. There is no one Cuban officials
consider more out of bounds than the country's dissidents, whom they
call mercenaries paid by the U.S. government and Cuban-American interest
groups in Miami.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said this week that Francis had not
accepted any invitations to meet with dissidents, and well-known
opposition members told The Associated Press they have received no
invitation to see him.

Lombardi noted that a possible occasion for bringing up Cuban's human
rights situation could be during Francis' private meeting with Raul
Castro, or while the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, meets with his Cuban counterpart.

"Often, these types of problems are dealt with in conversations, not so
much with public proclamations but in personal, direct or private
discussions," Lombardi said. "The tradition of the Holy See's authority
is to deal with them with a discretion that can often be more efficient
than other, possibly more visible but less opportune ways."

The pope "will be well aware that his not meeting dissidents will be
construed in some quarters as kowtowing to the regime but he won't care
about that," said Austen Ivereigh, author of "The Great Reformer:
Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope."

Francis has a close relationship with Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the
archbishop of Havana who has overseen the church's relationship with the
Cuban state since 1981. Ortega has been fiercely criticized by
dissidents in Cuba and anti-Castro forces in Miami for not confronting
the government as the church has done in other places around the world.

Despite the assertions of rights groups that there are still dozens of
political prisoners in Cuba, Ortega told reporters in June he wasn't
aware of any, saying: "It's really difficult to interpret who's a
political prisoner."

The next month, a dissident tried to deliver a list of political
prisoners to Ortega during a July 4 party at the residence of the top
U.S. diplomat in Havana. The cardinal refused to accept it, telling
reporters it wasn't the appropriate forum. The dissident said Ortega
threatened to call security and have him thrown out.

"There's a very great nervousness in the Cuban church about being seen
to be in any way abetting the political opposition in Havana," Ivereigh
said. "They have gone out of their way — some say they may have gone too
far in being supportive — but I think they're playing the long game and
I think they know this is a process of evolution rather than regime change."

Backers of the church's approach say it has produced results, such as
increased church freedom to conduct social welfare and educational
programs and the release ahead of the pope's visit of 3,522 people
serving time for relative minor crimes.

Dissidents say that's not enough.

"I don't think there should be Western, democratic thinking everywhere
else and, upon arrival in Cuba, not saying virtually anything in order
to not upset authorities," said Eliecer Avila, head of the opposition
group Somos Mas. "It's essential that the pope delivers a message to the
government of Cuba."


Cuba has dramatically reduced the number of people that human rights
groups say are prisoners of conscience, but allowing a free press and
legalizing political parties other than the ruling communists remain
unlikely over the short term.

"We shouldn't have too many expectations for the benefits that a pope
can bring," said Jose Daniel Ferrer, head of the Patriotic Union of
Cuba, a dissident group from eastern Cuba. "The goodwill of the pope is
one thing; what the Cuban government is able to allow is another."

Some members of Cuba's moderate civil society groups say they support
the pontiff's non-confrontational approach and think his visit may
ultimately speed up slow-moving political and economic reform more than
expected.

"If people are expecting tough words and insults I think the pope will
disappoint them," said political scientist Roberto Veiga, a director of
the Cuba-based think tank Cuba Posible. "Firstly he's a pastor and
what's more he's a very intelligent politician."

But Veiga said he expects Francis will speak powerfully about the need
for diversity of opinion and the importance of civic participation and
freedom.

"I think he'll surprise us," Veiga said.

___

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mweissenstein

Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Source: Pope plans to duck dissidents in Cuba, spawning criticism - The
Washington Post -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/pope-plans-to-duck-dissidents-in-cuba-spawning-criticism/2015/09/18/c0e903a8-5dba-11e5-8475-781cc9851652_story.html