Benedict's Cuban Opportunity

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American Spectator:

When Pope Benedict XVI arrives today at Antonio Maceo Airport in Santiago de Cuba on Cuba's eastern edge, he will find a nation much in need of the "new evangelization" that is at the heart of his pontificate.

The Vatican and the Cuban Catholic Church have repeatedly stressed the pastoral, that is to say apolitical, purpose of the pope's visit. Though a majority of Cubans identify as Catholic, very few -- roughly 5% -- practice their faith. As one Cuba watcher put it to me, "Catholicism pervades Cuba, but the practice of Catholicism does not."

But Benedict's pilgrimage, the first papal visit to Cuba since John Paul II's 1998 trip, also provides an opportunity for the pope to speak up for and encourage the country's weary dissident community, many of whom criticize the Church for being overly conciliatory toward the Marxist regime.

On Friday, Benedict perhaps offered a preview of his message during the three-day visit. "Today it is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality," Benedict told reporters accompanying him on his flight from Rome to Mexico, where he spent the weekend. "In this way we can no longer respond and build a society. New models must be found with patience and in a constructive way."

Benedict added that the Church wants "to help in the spirit of dialogue to avoid trauma and to help bring about a just and fraternal society."