Castro: Pope Francis so impressive I might return to church

[webfact]

Castro: Pope Francis so impressive I might return to church
By FRANCES D'EMILIO

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cuban President Raul Castro paid a call Sunday on Pope Francis at the Vatican to thank him for working for Cuban-U.S. detente — and said he was so impressed by the pontiff he is considering a return to the Catholic church's fold.

"Bienvenido (welcome)!" Francis said in his native Spanish, welcoming Castro to his studio near the Vatican public audience hall. The Cuban president, bowing his head, gripped Francis' hand with both of his, and the two men began private talks. The meeting lasted nearly an hour, as the Argentine-born Francis and Castro spoke in Spanish.

Francis will visit Cuba in September en route to the United States.

After leaving the Vatican, Castro, the brother of Fidel, the revolutionary leader who brought the Communists to power in Cuba, gushed with praise for Francis.

The pontiff "is a Jesuit, and I, in some way, am too," Castro said at a news conference. "I always studied at Jesuit schools."

"When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his Masses, and with satisfaction," Castro said at a news conference at the office of Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, whom he met with after the Vatican talks.

"I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the church, and I'm not joking," he said.

It was a startling assertion for the leader of a Communist country, whose crackdown on dissidents in the past had drawn sharp Vatican criticism.

"I am from the Cuban Communist Party, that doesn't allow (religious) believers, but now we are allowing it, it's an important step," Castro said.

Speaking about Francis, Castro said he has been "very impressed by his wisdom, his modesty, and all his virtues that we know he has."

Castro had already publicly thanked Francis for helping to bring Havana and Washington closer together after decades of U.S. government policy of strict isolation of the Communist-ruled Caribbean island. On Sunday, he stepped up his praise on Francis' push for the two nations to put enmity aside and work for reconciliation for the benefit of Americans and Cubans.

As he took his leave from the Vatican, Castro told journalists, "I thanked the pope for what he did."

Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the president also "laid out to the pope the sentiments of the Cuban people in the wait and preparation for his upcoming visit to the island in September."

After his meeting with Renzi, Castro expressed hope that his country would quickly see more fruits of the thaw between Cuba and the United States. "Maybe the (U.S.) Senate will take us off the list of terrorist nations" soon, Castro told reporters.

Francis gave Castro a medal depicting St. Martin of Tours, known for caring for the destitute.

"With his mantle he covers the poor," Francis told Castro, saying more efforts on behalf of the poor are needed.

Fidel Castro met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996. That encounter helped pave the way for John Paul's 1998 pilgrimage to Cuba, the first visit by a pontiff to the island. John Paul was also eager for Cuba to grant more visas for foreign priests to bolster the dwindling corps of clergy on the island.

The Vatican's general policy of opposing economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool carries appeal for Cuban leaders and people, after decades under a U.S. economic embargo. With the Vatican keen on protecting the interests of its Catholic followers under Cuban Communist rule, Pope Benedict XVI also visited the island.

Castro told reporters that "we are trying to carry forward improvements of our political, social and cultural system. But it's very difficult to do it without causing shocks, without leaving some in the street."

He came to Rome on his way back from celebrations in Moscow of the 70th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-11

[Docno]

Getting old and starting to hedge bets....

[Cats4ever]

He might be impressed with this Pope, but strong chance that the next will be a wily Vatican conservative with a mate running the Vat Bank.

[MaxYakov]

Getting old and starting to hedge bets....

That's a good bet. I think also he's practicing to be a standup comedian in the meantime.

[nithisa78]

He might be impressed with this Pope, but strong chance that the next will be a wily Vatican conservative with a mate running the Vat Bank.

fortunate you'll have nothing to say about it. Like living your life.

[laobali]

So the Pope has convinced him God really exists?

[arjunadawn]

Of course he is impressed. The pontiff is a student of militant theology. Militant theology actually later seeded what some may have heard termed in the US lately as Black Militant Theology. It is the theology that ascribes to Christ altruistic and socialistic qualities he either did not expressly endorse or are weakly exercised from the gospel to form, basically, socialist Christianity. This manifested repeatedly in the Americas with the Society of Jesus associating themselves with either the Sandinista s of Nicaragua or other radical elements in various Latin American countries. As frequently as they live amongst the lay and the insurgent they moved among the ruling and usurpers.

The concept of Jesuits being radical leftists is hardly new, nor is it suspicious or speculative; it is abundantly clear from their own admissions and forays into politics, which is a decidedly "render unto Cesar" like thing to do. Do these statements indict the pope because Castro prostrates to him? Maybe. They are facts. Remember, because someone is a leftist, or stretches their ordained authority into politics, etc., does not mean they are stupid. Jesuits are indisputably among the smartest single group of people on earth, bar none! There are reasons why Jesuits are so brilliant but that is not for this post- they are. So, what would one expect to see in a Jesuit Pope (which is historically inconceivable; especially since Vatican II)? What one would find is exactly what we see today- an agreeable, smart, charming, laymen-like character of the masses, but likely bearing impeccable intelligence, and motive! It would hardly be possible to rise in the ranks of the Society of Jesus without drinking the cool-aid- the cool-aid that has traditionally been at loggerheads with... tradition itself!

I actually find the election of a Jesuit to be among the most remarkable things I have witnessed in my life. This is not disparaging, it really is a remarkable event- just ask a Jesuit.

[laobali]

As remarkable as Cameron winning the UK election; just ask a Conservative

[Cats4ever]

He might be impressed with this Pope, but strong chance that the next will be a wily Vatican conservative with a mate running the Vat Bank.

fortunate you'll have nothing to say about it. Like living your life.

I don't understand, although I think you are trying to be dimissive or insulting.

[CMHomeboy78]

Of course he is impressed. The pontiff is a student of militant theology. Militant theology actually later seeded what some may have heard termed in the US lately as Black Militant Theology. It is the theology that ascribes to Christ altruistic and socialistic qualities he either did not expressly endorse or are weakly exercised from the gospel to form, basically, socialist Christianity. This manifested repeatedly in the Americas with the Society of Jesus associating themselves with either the Sandinista s of Nicaragua or other radical elements in various Latin American countries. As frequently as they live amongst the lay and the insurgent they moved among the ruling and usurpers.

The concept of Jesuits being radical leftists is hardly new, nor is it suspicious or speculative; it is abundantly clear from their own admissions and forays into politics, which is a decidedly "render unto Cesar" like thing to do. Do these statements indict the pope because Castro prostrates to him? Maybe. They are facts. Remember, because someone is a leftist, or stretches their ordained authority into politics, etc., does not mean they are stupid. Jesuits are indisputably among the smartest single group of people on earth, bar none! There are reasons why Jesuits are so brilliant but that is not for this post- they are. So, what would one expect to see in a Jesuit Pope (which is historically inconceivable; especially since Vatican II)? What one would find is exactly what we see today- an agreeable, smart, charming, laymen-like character of the masses, but likely bearing impeccable intelligence, and motive! It would hardly be possible to rise in the ranks of the Society of Jesus without drinking the cool-aid- the cool-aid that has traditionally been at loggerheads with... tradition itself!

I actually find the election of a Jesuit to be among the most remarkable things I have witnessed in my life. This is not disparaging, it really is a remarkable event- just ask a Jesuit.

Very interesting post.

I was an art student in New York City in the mid-1960s, living in Greenwich Village when the Catholic Worker Movement was very active there. Dorothy Day had earlier travelled to Cuba illegally via Canada and met Fidel Castro and other high-ranking revolutionaries who had recently taken power. Liberation Theology was just beginning in those days, but it is interesting to speculate how events might have developed had the US Government dealt with Castro the way it did with Tito in Yugoslavia. The right-wing view is that the Cuban Revolution would have spread Communism throughout Latin America. That is entirely possible; but other scenarios are equally plausible.