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• Arts and Culture
• Havana
• International
• 02 / 23 / 2008

The Vatican's Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone talked of a future visit to Cuba of Pope Benedict XVI who, he said, "follows like a father" the church's life and activity in the island.

"We hope the Holy Father can visit the island in the future," stated Bertone, without specifying a date, in a Thursday night commemorative mass on occasion of the 10th anniversary of His Holiness John Paul II's pilgrimage in this Caribbean nation.

The priest recalled that after concluding his second trip to Cuba in 2005, he passed on to Pope Benedict XVI an invitation by President Fidel Castro to visit the country.

At the beginning of the liturgical act at Havana's Cathedral Square, this city's archbishop Cardinal Jaime Ortega stated that Bertone's presence here "shows hope" that the Catholic Church leader may visit the island soon.

"The Holy Father has heard very well the Cuban Cardinal's invitation tonight," noted the officiating priest of the religious rite, attended by the island's Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon, Havana's Communist Party first secretary Pedro Saez, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, and other figures.

In front of foreign diplomats, believers from other Christian churches and an extensive grass-roots representation, Bertone said he is the bearer of a "message of justice and peace, truth and freedom, fraternity and love."

In the homily he said that shortly before departing from Rome, the Vatican cardinal received a phone call from the Pope to pass on the Cuban people and bishops his spiritual closeness.

"The Cuban Catholic Church hopes to be increasingly present and active amid the society with the modalities of the current world," emphasized Bertone, who started Wednesday his official and pastoral visit to Cuba.

His agenda includes visiting the provinces of Villa Clara, center, and Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, east, where there will also be pastoral activities.

Source: Prensa Latina