Leaders Hail Strong Support of Civil Rights : Pope’s Visit Buoys Paraguay Opposition

Pope John Paul II, ending a tour of four Latin American nations Wednesday on his 68th birthday, won praise from Paraguayan opposition leaders for his impassioned support of civil rights in one of the region’s few remaining dictatorships.

“This has been a powerful impulse for the movement seeking change in this country,” said Miguel Abbon Saguier, the leader of the banned Authentic Liberal Radical Party, who has been detained repeatedly since the 1960s. “This society is fragmented and divided, but now this man has come and helped us overcome our hatred and differences.”

John Paul emphasized his pastoral role and never referred directly to the conflict between the opposition and President Alfredo Stroessner, the 75-year-old general who has ruled here for 34 years. But the pontiff spoke out clearly for democracy with full and free participation in civic affairs by all citizens.

The focal point was a meeting with more than 3,000 civic and opposition party leaders Tuesday night that Stroessner’s government had tried to prohibit, saying it would be used to provoke disorder. After pressure from the Vatican and the Roman Catholic bishops in Paraguay, who increasingly have attacked the government over human rights abuses, the government rescinded the ban and the meeting went ahead.

In remarks just before the Pope’s 11 p.m. departure for Rome, Stroessner said that the visit allowed John Paul to see “our atmosphere of tranquillity and peace and work, without violence, without terrorism,” and that “we are a pluralistic, democratic society.”

The Pope, in response, said he was pleased that the people were determined to build “a conciliatory and brotherly Paraguay.”

Meeting a Victory

Maria Victoria de Ferreira, a lay Catholic leader, said the fact that the meeting occurred was in itself a crucial victory for Paraguayans. She said the government has waged “a systematic campaign to discredit some bishops and lay people, and divide and isolate them. The Pope reaffirmed the unity of the church and the need for his work in this country.

“There will now be a great effort by the church to disseminate the messages of the Pope and pursue the work the church has undertaken to see a better society in Paraguay,” she said.

Aldo Zucolillo, owner of the newspaper ABC Color, which was shut down by Stroessner four years ago, said, “I don’t doubt that Stroessner will increase the repression after the Pope leaves--jailings, torture and exile.” Zucolillo, one of the “builders of society” invited by the church to the meeting Tuesday night, said those seeking democracy “have been threatened, muzzled and paralyzed by fear of the violent repression that Stroessner uses.”

“We Paraguayans have fear under our skin,” he added. “The visit of the Pope has made us lose that fear.”

No one suggested that the pontiff’s presence would produce instant change. Similar hopes among opposition leaders in Chile after John Paul’s tumultuous visit last year proved groundless. But Paraguayan opponents of Stroessner’s authoritarian rule said the Pope’s tour would be an important impetus in the campaign for democracy.

Saguier, who faces charges for accusing the government of involvement in drug trafficking, noted that in Stroessner’s presence, the pontiff criticized corruption and underscored the need for morality in public affairs.

“The visit has been demoralizing for Stroessner and even more for those around him,” Saguier said. “Now we are going to try to take the initiative.”

Zucolillo said: “Nobody has ever said to Stroessner’s face what the Pope said. That bravery by the Pope will provoke a great strengthening of the positive moral forces in this society.”

He said the church itself would also be “fortified in its struggle with Stroessner. And behind the church are all Paraguayans.”

About 1,000 youths serenaded the Pope with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” when he emerged from the papal nuncio’s residence early Wednesday, and again at his stops in the provincial cities of Incarnacion and Caacupe.

John Paul’s ninth Latin American tour included stops in 17 cities in Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay over 12 days. While concentrating on religious themes, he often touched on the church’s obligation to address the continent’s overwhelming problems: poverty, violence, foreign debt and drugs.