Cuban President Raul Castro and Pope Francis Held a Private Meeting
Cuban President Raul Castro and Pope Francis held a private fifty-five minute interview on May 10th
The Cuban president expressed his gratitude for the pope’s brokering of a behind-the-scenes agreement that has led to the re-establishment of bi-lateral relations between Washington and Havana.
Castro explained that he had read all of the pope’s speeches and that if the pope ” continued to talk like this”
he would start to pray again and he would return to the Roman Catholic Church. He said that he was serious and not joking.
“We know that given his great moral authority, when the pope speaks, his words have enormous weight”, said President Barak Obama, sho visited the Vatican last year. After their meeting, President Castro and the pope exchanged gifts in front of the cameras. The Argentinian born pope gave Castro a medal if the French Saint Martin of Tours, the patron saint of Buenos Aires, while Castro presented the pope with a painting representing Cuban migration.
The pope’s travels will begin again on September 22 of 20015 and will take him to Washington D.C. New York and Philadelphia. The pope will also travel to Cuba, but it is still not certain whether he will stay one day in Havana, or if he will visit other cities in Cuba as well.
On Sunday May 10th Castro promised to attend all te masses that the pope will officiate and declared himself “a Jesuit like the pope”, because he attended schools run by the Jesuit order, as well as regularly attending church services.
Raul Castro said he believes Pope Francis to be largely responsable for the improvement of relations between Cuba and the United States. President Castro alo aid he was very grateful forthe pope’s brokering of a behind the scenes agreement that he felt led to the estableshment of the bi-lateral relations between Washington and Havana.
Castro said, “he was very impressed with the pope’s wisdom, his modesty and the many virtues that we know he has.”
(to be continued.)
