Pope’s Visit to Cuba
* Tad Szulc thinks that Pope John Paul II receiving Fidel Castro in the Vatican next month will be “poking a finger in the eye of the Clinton administration” and helping legitimize Castro’s 38-year rule in Cuba (Opinion, Oct. 20). As a Catholic, I respect the pope’s decision to meet with the Cuban dictator.
One can hope that such a trip would have effects similar to those of his historic visit to Poland shortly after becoming pope. But political legitimacy can only be gained through the ballot, and Castro has not allowed free elections since he seized power.
ALEXIS I. TORRES
Burbank
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