Archbishop Tauran Finishes Five Day Visit to Cuba

V.I.S. - Thursday 31 October 1996

VATICAN CITY, OCT 31, 1996 (VIS) - Before leaving Cuba on October 29, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran thanked President Fidel Castro and the country's authorities for "your warm welcome" and "the serene and frank atmosphere of our conversations," according to a communique made public yesterday afternoon.

After a five day visit, the secretary for Relations with States said that "with the foreign affairs minister I have been able, on two occasions, to have a joint vision on international problems and particularly on the place that Cuba holds today in the international community. Together we have considered how to help Cuba overcome the current difficulties and conditionings."

"I have not avoided dealing with the most concrete issues of the life of the Church in Cuba," he continued. "If in some aspects, such as the entry of religious personnel, a commitment to solve pending cases has been confirmed, some other needs of the Church still require an adequate evaluation that, I hope, will come about in the near future. It now falls to the apostolic nunciature in Cuba and the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops to continue to deepen this dialogue."

Archbishop Tauran added that "in this context, the long-awaited visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba would represent a culmination and a new point of departure on the path toward the normalization of relations between the Church and the State in Cuba. In this regard President Fidel Castro has confirmed for me that the invitation that has already been extended to Pope John Paul II to visit Cuba is fully in effect. We have been in agreement so that, in the near future, the pertinent arrangements may be made to accomplish this pastoral visit."