Sunday Sermon – Catholicism, Castro, and Cuba: Part One

By Msgr. David M. Gallivan, Pastor, Holy Cross Church

As Pope Benedict XVI prepares for a visit to Cuba in early February, I recall my own first visit to that island nation. In January 1985, I was the director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Latin America. The bishops of Cuba had invited a delegation of American bishops for a church-to-church visit. I went to assist with arrangements and translation. Upon arrival at Jose Marti Airport, I overheard a conversation between Cuba’s Papal Nuncio (the pope’s ambassador) and the press, hinting that our delegation would probably meet with President Fidel Castro. I reported this to our delegation, which included Cardinal Bernard Law and two other leading U.S. bishops. If we were to meet with the president, our preference was to do so in the company of the Cuban bishops. There was serious and heated discussion with them on this matter.

The Cubans convinced us that they preferred not to go before their president, hats (or mitres) in hand, “on the coat tails” of the Americans. They preferred instead to provide us with items for our agenda for the presidential visit, which would include a request for a subsequent serious meeting between Castro and Cuba’s own bishops. This had never happened during all of Castro’s years in power. As is well documented, Castro is extremely unpredictable. We had no idea when our meeting would take place. On the only free afternoon of the week, I took a long jog along Havana’s scenic seaside waterfront highway (El Malecón). It was a relief to be alone, away from the pressure of meetings and the prying eyes of Cuban security agents (I’m sure I was observed, but at least the illusion of solitude was there). Upon my return to our 1950′s style hotel, I was frantically received by the rest of the delegation with the news that we were to meet with Fidel Castro in about a half-hour. I showered and dressed so quickly that press photos of our historic meeting show me greeting President Castro with my soaked hair plastered to my scalp.

When the meeting finally ended at 3am, Cardinal Law asked President Castro if he would ever invite John Paul II to Cuba. Fidel answered enthusiastically:  “I would love to meet him at any time, here or in the Vatican.” The visit happened finally about 13 years later and will be repeated in two weeks.

Join us next Sunday for Part Two of Msgr. Gallivan’s look both back and ahead at Catholicism in Cuba. An excerpt from Part Two: “When we met with President Castro, we asked him to consider easing travel restrictions at least for purposes of family reunification, put an end to the de facto discrimination and permit the repair of church buildings. We also gave the president a list of 130 political prisoners whose families had contacted us before our trip. Castro denied there were political prisoners in Cuba.Wonder of wonders, six months later he freed these non-existent prisoners of conscience.”

To get involved with those working locally on issues relevant in both Cuba and Buffalo, connect with the International Institute of Buffalo, which is “dedicated to assisting refugees and immigrants overcome language and cultural barriers so that they can become self-sufficient, productive members of our community and to promoting global education and international connections in Western New York.”