Cuba Exhibit Affirms State--Not Church--as Papal Host

As workers toiled Thursday at the grand papal pulpit emerging in the Plaza of the Revolution here, the Cuban government unveiled an exhibit in the heart of the square that leaves no doubt who will host John Paul II when the Roman Catholic leader visits this Communist land next week.

The centerpiece is a towering photo mural of the pope shaking hands with Fidel Castro, the Cuban president who invited him in the first place.

A similar photograph graces the commemorative postage stamp the Cuban government is issuing this week.

In a land where symbolism reigns, the message was clear. Less than 48 hours after Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega received a historic half-hour of television time to address the nation about the papal visit, state TV carried footage of the new exhibit, making it clear that John Paul will be the guest not of the Cuban church but of the more powerful Cuban state.

Just as Ortega used his talk to outline his views, explain who John Paul is and describe his personal friendship with the anti-Communist pope, the new exhibit features several dozen photographs of Cuba’s Communist leader in his visit to the Vatican in November 1996. During that visit, John Paul accepted Castro’s invitation, laying the groundwork for the pope’s first trip here.

Entitled “Homage Exposition for the Visit of His Holiness John Paul II,” the exhibit includes a showcase of newspaper reports about Castro’s first meeting with the pope. Another sealed glass case contains Vatican coins John Paul gave Castro and his delegation as gifts.

A big-screen TV in a corner shows a brief but continuous video of Castro at the Vatican; two large boards display excerpts from Castro’s comments during his Roman visit. Both are dated Nov. 19, 1996. “In the pope, I could see a very kind, noble face,” one excerpt begins.

In the other, the head of one of the world’s few remaining Communist states provides his ideological underpinnings for inviting the leader of a faith his government had discouraged until the beginning of this decade. “I always have appreciated the teachings of Christ because in his teaching I see many things that resemble our teachings--in favor of the oppressed, in favor of the poor,” Castro is quoted as saying. “I would see them coincide with our Communist and socialist ideas.”

The exhibit, viewed by several hundred Cubans and foreign tourists Thursday, was among the clearest signs from the government that the five-day papal trip beginning next Wednesday officially is a state visit, which also happens to be a pastoral one.

Meanwhile, President Clinton is expected to announce today that he will extend a waiver that denies Americans the right to sue foreign companies doing business on confiscated properties in Cuba, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said Thursday.

Administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cooperation of U.S. allies in Europe and Latin America in promoting democracy and human rights in Cuba will be cited as a justification for extending the waiver of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. The act permits Americans to bring lawsuits in U.S. courts against companies “trafficking” on their Cuba holdings but also gives Clinton the authority to waive that right.

Each waiver has a six-month life span, after which it expires unless it is renewed. Clinton has issued waivers on three previous occasions, and the next deadline is today.