Pope Francis meets Fidel Castro after his pointed remarks about communism: Pair exchange books 'on religion' and share 'informal' talks as anger grows over Cuban dissidents made to 'disappear' for papal visit
- Pope Francis told crowd of hundreds of thousands gathered in the communist country to serve people, not ideas
- Appearing to take aim at Castro he used first Sunday Mass in Cuba to also warn that 'service is never ideological'
- Catholic leader also called on Colombian government and guerrilla army to end the 'bloodshed' in lengthy conflict
- The Mass in Havana's Revolutionary Square is part of Pope Francis' ten-day tour of Cuba and the United States
- Upon arrival yesterday Francis urged U.S. and Cuba to set an example for world by persisting with rapprochement
- The pope will finish his Cuba tour tomorrow when is due to fly out to the U.S. to be greeted by president Obama
Pope Francis has met Fidel Castro moments after he appeared to take aim at Cuba's communist regime during his first Sunday Mass in the nation's Revolution Square, telling the crowd that 'service is never ideological.'
Speaking at the iconic plaza, a historic gathering point for political rallies which is dominated by a towering metal portrait of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, Francis told the crowd they should 'serve people, not ideas'.
Later the same day, he met with Castro, now 89, along with his wife and family, at the former Cuban president's home as the pontiff presented him with a book written by a Jesuit. Castro, the nation's former dictator, gave Francis a collection of his own conversations about religion with Brazilian cleric Frei Betto.
Vatican spokesman Frederico Lombardo said the brief half an hour meeting had been a 'very informal conversation.'
Hundreds of thousands had turned out to watch the pontiff's service this morning, including the current president, Raúl Castro, and president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Drawing a line between serving to help others, and that in service of one political group, the Catholic leader said: 'Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people.'
He added that the faithful 'are called by virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which truly serves, and to help one another and not to be tempted by a 'service' which is really 'self-serving.'
Speaking in his native Spanish, the first South American pope added: 'There is a way to go about serving which is interested in only helping 'my people,' in the name of 'our people,' he said. 'This service always leaves 'your people' outside, and gives rise to a dynamic of exclusion,' according to the National Catholic Reporter.
His words appear to take aim at Castro and the communist regime which many Cubans still complain have control over almost every aspect of life. Anyone who steps out of line or is perceived as being disloyal is at risk of losing their benefits.
But even as he spoke, reports emerged that dozens of activists were being arrested.
Cuban site 14ymedio claimed that as many as 30 people had been detained to try and prevent protests at the event. They included four activists of the Patriotic Union of Cuba who attended the Mass and spoke to Pope Francis regarding about the violation of human rights in Cuba and treatment of political prisoners.
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Pope Francis has met Fidel Castro moments after he appeared to take aim at Cuba's communist regime during his first Sunday Mass in the nation's Revolution Square, telling the crowd that 'service is never ideological'
Pope Francis waves to the massive crowds from his popemobile as he arrives at the iconic square in Havana on his four-day visit to Cuba
Pope Francis kisses a young child who is lifted up to meet the pontiff in his popemobile ahead of his first Mass in Cuba this morning
Pope Francis appeared to take aim at Castro during his first Sunday Mass in Cuba's Revolution Square as he told the crowd that 'service is never ideological'
Although fewer than a third of Cubans identify as Catholic, many rural Cubans are speaking warmly of the pope's role in mediating detente between the U.S. and Cuba
The pontiff made his speech from the iconic square which is dominated by a huge metal portrait of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara
Believers and non-believers alike had flocked to square to see Pope Francis appear in Havana today, with many traveling miles on buses or trains across long, winding routes through Cuba's rural heartland for the service
The Sunday Mass was held in Revolutionary Square which is a traditional meeting point for political rallies in the communist country
People gather in Revolution Square for Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Havana, Cuba, where a sculpture of revolutionary hero Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a Cuban flag decorate government buildings
A Cuban dissident is prevented by security personnel from approaching the popemobile as Pope Francis arrives at Revolution Square in Havana
Security agents arrest a man (pictured in the white T-shirt) who threw pamphlets during the first mass given by Pope Francis on his visit to Cuba
Twenty members of Ladies in White, an opposition movement in Cuba founded by wives and other female relatives of jailed dissidents,were also said to have been arrested outside their headquarters in Lawton, in the early hours..
A local human rights group has since reported that so far, 17 members, including their leader, Berta Soler, have since been released, according to the Guardian.
Francis also urged the crowd to be look after each other and care for their 'brothers and sisters', telling them: 'Serving others chiefly means caring for the vulnerable. God's holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for parties, for friendship, for beautiful things.'
'It is a people which has its wounds, like every other people, yet knows how to stand up with open arms, to keep walking in hope, because it is a vocation of grandeur.'
Hundreds of thousands of believers and non-believers alike flocked to square to see the pope appear in Havana today, with many traveling miles on buses or trains across long, winding routes through Cuba's rural heartland for the service.
Francis is seen as something as a hero by many Cubans who credit him with having helped restore diplomatic relations between the United States and the Communist country.
The South American pope, pictured arriving with his pastoral staff, celebrated Sunday Mass in front of thousands at Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba
Making his way to the stage, Pope Francis had been met by an enthusiastic crowd who were singing and clapping for hours before he arrived
Drawing a line between serving to help others, and that in service of one political group, the Catholic leader said Christians serve people, not ideas
Pope Francis opened his first full day in Cuba on Sunday with what normally would be the culminating highlight of a papal visit, Sunday Mass
The pope also used his Sunday Mass to call on Colombia to put an end to the 'bloodshed' and stop South America's longest-running conflict
Although fewer than a third of Cubans identify as Catholic, many rural Cubans are speaking warmly of the pope's role in mediating detente between the U.S. and Cuba.
Today, he was due to celebrate Mass in Holguin and Santiago after his service in Havana, before flying to the United States on Tuesday, where he will meet Obama and address both the U.S. Congress and United Nations.
Before his arrival in Havana the enthusiastic crowd had been seen singing and clapping for hours before the Mass began.
When the popemobile arrived, circling the crowd, Pope Francis spent time greeting worshipers and kissing youngsters handed up to him before his speech.
Jose Rafael Velazquez, a 54-year-old who came to the plaza with his wife three hours before Mass was due to begin, said that while he's not religious, he came to witness a historic event.
He said: 'We also are very hopeful for this visit, because the pope was key in the deal with the United States, and ever since the announcement, there have been changes and this visit gives me more hope that it'll get better.'
The pope also used his Sunday Mass to call on Colombia to put an end to the 'bloodshed' and stop South America's longest-running conflict.
Francis urged both sides in the South American country to end a half-century of fighting and not to allow another failure to derail peace efforts from the iconic square, which has been the location of peace talks between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and governmental representatives of the capital Bogota for the past two years.
He said: 'May the blood shed by thousands of innocent people during long decades of armed conflict sustain efforts to find a definitive peace.
Pope Francis also used his first Sunday Mass in Cuba to call on Colombia to put an end to the bloodshed and stop South America's longest-running conflict
Pope Francis gives a wave from his popemobile upon arriving to give the first mass of his visit to Cuba in Havana's Revolution Square
Francis is seen as something as a hero by many Cubans who credit him with having helped restore diplomatic relations between the United States and the Communist country
When the popemobile arrived, circling the crowd, Pope Francis spent time greeting worshipers and kissing youngsters handed up to him before his speech
Believers and non-believers had flocked to the square to see the pope's address and many were keen to snap a picture with the Catholic leader
Women wave from an apartment building as Pope Francis approaches on his popemobile as he made is way from the airport to Havana, Cuba, yesterday
'Please, we do not have the right to allow ourselves yet another failure on this path of peace and reconciliation.'
Cuban state-run website Cubadebate has since changed the logo on its homepage and Twitter account in honor of Pope Francis' visit, AP reported.
The usual logo consisting of red and black semicircles and white arrows has been replaced by a graphic representation of the tall papal headgear known as the mitre, emblazoned with a cross.
It's accompanied by the words 'Welcome to Cuba,' in Spanish in place of Cubadebate's usual tagline: 'Against Media Terrorism.'
On arrival of his first visit to the former Cold War foes after helping broker their historic detente, he gave a short speech to call on Cuba to open itself up to the world, provide more religious freedom for the country's Christians, and to carry on strengthening ties with other countries.
The head of the Catholic church said: 'For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: the process of normalizing relations,' he said. 'I urge political leaders to persevere on this path - as an example of reconciliation for the entire world.'
Cuban President Raul Castro was at the airport to welcome the pontiff, who will be offering a show of solidarity with Cubans and delivering a message in the United States that Hispanics are the bedrock of the American church.
Experts suggested to CNN that Francis used his speech to deliver a veiled critique at the Castro regime, which has been in power for five decades, by referencing famous Cuban freedom fighter Jose Marti.
Francis, who has been critical of the Castro family in the past, referenced Marti as a 'fighter of dynasties', which some suggested was referring to the Castros, though the Vatican has denied this.
Clergy wave to and take pictures of Pope Francis after he celebrated Mass on his first full day in Cuba on Sunday
Dressed in their full green robes, clergymen leave after the ceremony by the pope who urged Cubans to take care of their 'brothers and sisters'
Evangelicals pray during a service at a private house in Holguin, Cuba, following Pope Francis' Mass in Havana's Revolution Square on Sunday
The Evangelical sermon took place at a private house in Holguin, the town where Francis is due to visit after he offered both spiritual and political messages for the tens of thousands who packed the plaza in Havana
A poster of Pope Francis is seen on a street in Holguin, where Pope Francis is due to arrive after a visit to Havana, in Cuba
Those who could not make it in person followed the coverage of the pope visit such as this man seen peering through a window at the transmission of the Mass in Havana's Revolution Square
He also said he believes 'the world is thirsty for peace,' according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The visit boasts several firsts for history's first Latin American pope - Francis will become the first pontiff to address the U.S. Congress and he will also proclaim the first saint on U.S. soil by canonizing the controversial, and Hispanic, missionary, Junipero Serra.
He will also be following in the footsteps of his predecessors by becoming the third pontiff to visit Cuba in the past 17 years — a remarkable record for any country, much less one with such a tiny Catholic community.
Thousands gathered along the route where Pope Francis's motorcade traveled yesterday, but not everyone in Havana was thrilled at being asked to turn out for the pontiff.
State-employed medical office worker Rafael Rivero said he did not want to feel obliged to watch Francis' motorcade, and said many of his co-workers feel the same way.
He said: 'Sure, go, if you're a practicing Catholic but it shouldn't be an obligation on a Saturday afternoon. It's our day off.'
Cuban officials offered a day's pay, snacks and transportation to encourage state workers to line the pontiff's route from the airport to the Papal Ambassador's home. University students were also recruited.
Pope Francis departed from Rome on a special Alitalia flight on Saturday morning to arrive in Havana, where he was greeted as something of a hero to Cubans who credit him with having helped restore diplomatic relations between the United States and the Communist country.
'We all want to say thank you so much Francis for helping us end this absurd situation we have endured for so long,' said plumber Osmany Lopez, 63, who plans to be on the streets of Havana to see Francis' motorcade from the airport today.
Pope Francis blesses a girl shortly after landing at Havana's José Martí International Airport on his first visit to Cuba this afternoon, where he was welcomed by President Raul Castro (right)
The historic ten-day visit is Francis's first trip to Cuba and the United States after helping broker their historic detente. Pictured: the Pope shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro
Francis is due to hold masses in Havana and around Cuba until Tuesday evening, when he will fly to Washington DC where he will meet President Obama, then on to New York and Philadelphia (pictured, the Pope speaks with Raul Castro of Cuba)
The pontiff's skullcap was blown off by a gust of wind as he stepped off the plane at Havana's international airport this afternoon
Pope Francis is welcomed by Cuban President Raul Castro upon landing at Havana's international airport on the first leg of a high-profile trip that will also take him to the United States
Pope Francis speaks Cuban President Raul Castro during his welcome ceremony upon landing at Havana's international airport today
Francis listens to Cuban President Raul Castro delivering a speech during the welcoming ceremony at Havana's international airport
'IT WILL BE A NIGHTMARE': NEW YORK BRACED FOR DAYS OF TRANSPORT CHAOS WHEN POPE ARRIVES NEXT WEEK
New York is already one of the world's busiest, most congested cities, but when the Pope visits next week experts are warning that delays could reach biblical proportions.
From 5pm next Thursday key areas of central New York will be subject to a rolling series of closures lasting for three days and sealing off up to 16 blocks at a time along key commuting routes, making it one of the largest programs of street closures ever organized in the city.
Authorities are warning commuters to expect delays, and advise taking public transit instead, but with hundreds of thousands of visitors expected trying to catch a glimpse of the Pontiff between stops on his itinerary, officials admit that trains, subways and buses will also be packed.
And to make matters even worse, President Obama will also be traveling to New York the same week, along with 170 other world leaders, for a summit at the UN headquarters, also located in the city.
New Yorkers are bracing themselves for days of travel mayhem next week as one of the largest programs of road closures ever is due to be put into place when Pope Francis visits (pictured, a worker cleans and polishes the pulpit of St. Patrick's Cathedral)
The Pontiff is due to visit St Patrick's for evening prayer next Thursday, before going to address the UN, visit the 9/11 Memorial, ride through Central Park and hold Mass at Madison Square Garden (pictured, a worker applies wax to the doors of St Patrick's Cathedral)
Sam Schwartz, a former Department of Transportation commissioner, told NBC7 that the tailbacks and delays caused by the two events could be the worst the city has ever seen, adding: 'It will be a nightmare.'
While city authorities insist they will be doing everything they can to accommodate visitors, many train services, such as the PATH train which takes commuters from New Jersey into lower Manhattan, already run at or near full capacity, meaning little else can be done to ease congestion.
Authorities also have no clear idea of the number of visitors likely to arrive to see Pope Francis, since his contact with the public will be limited.
But at least 80,000 New Yorkers have won a confirmed lottery for a spot on Pope Francis' motorcade route through Central Park.
And they they will have to endure long lines, tight security and hours of waiting before the pontiff even gets there - without being allowed the comfort of chairs, blankets, coolers or umbrellas.
But for Suleyma Cuellar, 20, who snagged tickets for her and her mother, it will all be worth it if she can catch even a fleeting glimpse of Francis. 'It's like seeing Jesus walk by,' said the after-school robotics program instructor from East Harlem.
The pope's 12-block processional along the park's West Drive on Friday was a late addition to his schedule after morning appearances at the United Nations and the September 11 museum and before an evening Mass at Madison Square Garden.
Sam Schwartz, a former Department of Transportation commissioner, has warned that delays and congestion around the Pope's visit could be the worst the city has ever seen (pictured, Pope Francis stuffed toys for sale along Madison Avenue)
Diana Torres, of Queens, said finding out that she was among those selected to get the tickets was a blessing. 'I want to go so badly, I asked for this, I put my name on it, I prayed on it,' she said.
The 53-year-old volunteer religious instructor chose to bring her son's fiance with her, a decision that wasn't met with universal approval from others around her. 'There was a family member who was very upset ... but I feel OK,' Torres said.
But the controversy over the tickets has not been limited to irate relatives. Only New York state residents were allowed to apply for the ticket lottery, and almost as soon as winners were notified, listings began appearing on eBay and Craigslist offering to sell pairs of tickets for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
'To attempt to resell the tickets and profit from his time in New York goes against everything Pope Francis stands for,'
In a statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said: 'Those who do go have a list of rules to follow, starting with having to enter the area via assigned security gates. The pope isn't scheduled to make his processional until 5 p.m., but the gates will be open at 11 a.m. and people have to be there by 3:30 p.m.
Attendees can bring water and snacks, personal cameras and strollers for small children, but that's it. The list of prohibited items includes alcohol, large bags, signs, and of course, no selfie sticks or drones.
That's all fine with Violeta Celaj, a 30-year-old nutritionist and nursing student in the Bronx, who says she plans to get there by 7 or 8 a.m., water and snacks in hand.
'I have no words to explain how much that would mean' to see the pope, she said. When she found out she was going to be able to go, she started screaming in joy, Celaj said. 'This is better than the lottery.'
Organizers in Philadelphia, where the Pope will travel after visiting New York, are expecting crowds of up to a million for a Festival of Families event due to take place on Saturday evening, that is arguably easier to plan for.
Because the crowd will be moving to one particular place at one particular time, it is easier for city authorities to know where the extra demands on capacity will be, and plan accordingly, unlike in New York.
New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told CBS New York: 'Traffic in Manhattan is going to be very difficult. It's always difficult, but it's going to be even more so. We are strongly encouraging people not to come into Manhattan by vehicle. Get out the sneakers, prepare to do a little walking.'
Businesses are also likely to be badly affected. Workers stationed in any of the offices along the Holy See's route, including a large stretch of Fifth Avenue, can expect lengthy delays just trying to get to the front door.
Elsewhere bodegas and corner stores could run short on some supplies thanks to a ban on delivery trucks in some areas, while bakeries could struggle to get their goods out and into shops across the city.
After arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens on Thursday the pope will then go to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown.
The next day begins with an address to the United Nations, followed by a late-morning service at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
That afternoon, Pope Francis will pay a visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem, before he is scheduled to celebrate a Mass on Friday evening, Sept. 25, at Madison Square Garden. He leaves New York on Saturday morning.
Tish Cash, who lives in Midtown where most of the road closures will be centered, added: 'There's fear, I'll just leave it at that. It's either walking as far north or south as possible and then praying from there to get across town. You're praying. Is that ironic? Very much so.'
Crowds lined the streets of Havana to welcome the Pope today as he paraded around the city in his motorcade, including passing by this sign feature Communist leaders including Fidel Castro, alongside a slogan which translates as: 'True examples of brotherhood'
While Francis's visits to other countries are usually accompanied by a huge security operation, on the streets of Havana, people were allowed to assemble at the sides of the road with few police and no barriers around
While previous popes rode around fully encased by a bullet-proof glass screen, one of Francis's first acts as Pope was to do away with that, instead preferring one with open sides
Pope Francis waves from the Popemobile after his arrival in Havana, Cuba, as crowds flocked on to the streets to see him
Cuban officials offered a day's pay, snacks and transportation to encourage state workers to line the pontiff's route from the airport to the Papal Ambassador's home
Hundreds of people eagerly anticipate the arrival of Pope Francis on a road outside the airport in Havana, Cuba, this afternoon
A nun waits with others for Pope Francis to arrive outside the Apostolic Nunciature in Havana, Cuba, on his first visit to the country
Yelenis Teruel Salas, who is celebrating her 15th birthday today, enters a convertible car wearing her lavish purple gown outside the San Isidoro Cathedral, on the day of Pope Francis's arrival in Havana
Yelenis Teruel Salas shows her image of Pope Francis outside the San Isidoro Cathedral where she prayed as part of her 15th birthday or 'Quinceañera' celebrations in Holguin today
Before leaving for Cuba, Pope Francis paid a visit to the newest residents of Vatican City: a refugee Syrian family taken in by the Vatican in a demonstration of the pontiff's call for the world to open its doors to refugees and people seeking better lives for themselves.
Francis says he was emotional meeting the family of four, who arrived in Italy from Damascus on the same Sunday that the pope issued an appeal for each parish and religious order around the globe to take in a refugee family and provide for them. The Vatican is taking in two: the Syrian family of Greek Melkite Catholics and another family that hasn't yet been identified.
During his flight to Havana, Francis told of meeting with the Syrian family Saturday morning as he headed out of the Vatican. In his words, 'You could see the pain in their faces.'
He called again for 'bridges of peace' to prevail to end wars and help stem the tide of migrants.
While on the plane, journalists were treated to meat-filled empanadas by flight attendants, and told they were a special gift of the pope from the front of the aircraft.
Better sensitized to the issue than his predecessors due to his Latin American roots, the pontiff issued a personal appeal to Obama and Castro last year to end 50 years of animosity and facilitated a back channel for talks. He later hosted the Cuban and U.S. delegations to finalize the deal.
'Everybody listens to him because of his prestige,' said Juana Hurtado, 55, on the eve of the visit in Havana. 'And he may soften up some hard souls.'
Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Francis hopes the rapprochement will soon be followed by the removal of the U.S. embargo, which the Vatican has long opposed.
On Friday, the United States eased rules for U.S. citizens wishing to travel to Cuba and simplified procedures for telephone and Internet investments and money transfers to Cuba.
Francis is also set to take the world stage at the United Nations to press his agenda on migration, the environment and religious persecution while more than 100 world leaders listen in.
It is largely unknown territory for the Argentine Jesuit, who has never visited either country and has confessed that the United States was so foreign to him that he would spend the summer reading up on it.
The 78-year-old's popularity ratings are high in the U.S., although he also has gained detractors, particularly among conservatives over his critiques of the excesses of capitalism.
That has endeared him to Cuban President Raul Castro, who vowed earlier this year that if Francis kept it up, he would return to the Catholic Church. But Francis has also been on record criticizing Cuba's socialist — and atheist — revolution as denying individuals their 'transcendent dignity.'
Pope Francis arrives in Havana to begin a ten-day tour of Cuba and the United States today on his first visit to the former Cold War foes after helping broker their historic detente. Pictured: Francis waves at Fiumicino airport in Rome as he boards his flight to Cuba
Alitalia president Luca di Montezemolo (left) wishes Pope Francis a safe trip to Pope Francis before he boards his flight to Havana, Cuba
The pope is to celebrate Mass in Havana, Holguin and Santiago in Cuba before flying to the United States on Tuesday, where he will be greeted by President Barack Obama
The U.S. visit, planned well before the Cuban stop was added on, will be notable for the emphasis Francis is placing on Hispanics
But a close Vatican aide of the pope's, Guzman Carriquiry, said Francis' key aim in travelling to Cuba was pastoral, not political.
He told a recent church conference: 'When I asked the Holy Father if he's going to Cuba to follow the negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba, he responded clearly this is neither the motivation nor the objective of the trip.
'The motive of the trip is to confirm the Catholic faith of Cubans and encourage a church that has suffered in the past decades.'
Asked if Francis would meet with dissidents or speak out about their plight while in the Communist country, Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the issue could come up in private discussions between Francis and Raul Castro, and their respective secretaries of state.
'You can discuss problems of this type without dealing with them in clamorous ways,' Lombardi added.
Francis will travel to the eastern Cuban city of Santiago to pray at the sanctuary of Cuba's patron saint and stop in the city of Holguin en-route, demonstrating once again his desire to visit places that are often overlooked.
And Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is in the Cuban capital on an official visit that coincides with Pope Francis's visit. Fernandez arrived Saturday morning and is scheduled to meet with President Castro and plans to attend a Mass celebrated by Francis on Sunday at Havana's Revolution Square.
The pope will arrive in Washington D.C. on September 22 for the start of the U.S. leg of his trip, greeted at Andrews Air Force Base by President Obama and his family. Francis will also visit New York and Philadelphia before returning to Rome on September 28.
The U.S. visit, planned well before the Cuban stop was added on, will be notable for the emphasis Francis is placing on Hispanics. They make up about 38 per cent of adult Catholics in the U.S., according to the CARA research center at Georgetown University.
Francis will deliver the vast majority of his speeches in his native Spanish, despite speaking very good English. He will also meet with immigrants on several occasions and bless a wooden cross particularly important to the Hispanic faithful.
His canonization of the Spanish-born Junipero Serra, who built missions across California in the 18th century, is aimed at giving today's Latino Catholics a role model - although Native Americans have opposed the canonization and argued he helped wipe out indigenous populations.
Pope Francis watches recorded video messages which Cuban state television channels transmitted in Vatican City ahead of his visit
People watch Pope Francis arrive to the airport, live on state television in their living room in Havana, Cuba earlier tod
Most importantly, Francis is expected to make immigration one of the major themes of his visit, calling for countries to be more welcoming of migrants seeking a better life for themselves.
In particular, he decried the plight of would-be migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, signaling he has no qualms about wading into a politically charged issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
Carriquiry, the No. 2 in the Vatican's Latin America commission and a longtime friend to Francis, said he expected the pope would reaffirm what American bishops have been saying for years.
'That Hispanic ministry it is not an add-on to the so-called Anglo-centric official, traditional ministry, but that it has to do with those who already make up almost half of the Catholics in the country, whose evangelization is a main priority of the destiny of Catholicism here,' he said.
Another hot-button issue Francis will raise is religious liberty, following the legalization of gay marriage across the country and continued opposition by the U.S. church to the birth control coverage requirement in the Obama administration's health care plan. For Francis though, religious liberty also means denouncing the persecution of Christians by Islamic extremists in the Middle East and Africa.
A man pushes his motorcycle as people walk on the freshly painted Reina Street on the route that Pope Francis will ride on his Popemobile in Havana, Cuba, today
Vatican and Cuban flags hang from a balcony in Reina Street before the arrival of Pope Francis in Havana, Cuba, this afternoon
A street sweeper cleans near a sign reading 'Long live Cuba' and a monument of Cuban independence hero Antonio Maceo in Havana
A worker cleans the site where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in Revolution Plaza in Holguin, Cuba, before flying to the United States
Technically, the real reason for the trip is for Francis to participate in the church's World Meeting of Families, a massive Catholic rally in Philadelphia, to reinforce church teaching on marriage.
Traditional family values are expected to be high on the agenda, especially since the Philadelphia event amounts to the opening act of a major and contentious meeting of the world's bishops on family issues, including gays and divorcees, that will get underway a week after Francis returns to Rome.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said he expected Francis would do what his predecessors have done on their trips to the U.S.,that is remind America of its greatness, of its long history of welcoming foreigners and of the freedoms, first sketched out in Philadelphia, that formed the foundation of American democracy and society.
'He will remind of us our nobility,' Dolan said in a recent interview in the New York City archdiocese. 'He will affirm our heritage and in doing that he'll also remind us of the moral imperative to live up to that.'
- Pope Francis praises and criticizes Cuba - CNN.com
- Under image of Che Guevara, Francis says Christian service 'never ideological' | National Catholic Reporter
- Pope Francis at mass in Havana: 'Service is never ideological' – live | World news | The Guardian
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