In Cuba, Pope warns against ‘dynamic of exclusion’

HAVANA Even before dawn broke on Cuba’s iconic Plaza de La Revolucion on Sunday, tens of thousands of people had gathered to hear Pope Francis give his first sermon during a tour that will take him across the island and the United States.

As cheering crowds waved Cuban, Vatican, and even some U.S. flags, Francis stopped his car on several occasions greeting nuns and priests, and embracing a delegation of Cubans in wheelchairs.

Francis used his sermon to talk about the need to serve and the evils of pride.

He said that while Jesus’ disciples were worried about occupying positions that might bring them power and benefits, he undid their logic “telling them, simply, that the authentic life is lived in the concrete commitment to others.”

He also warned against only helping those in ones’ inner circle or family. “That kind of service always leaves (people) out,” he said, “generating a dynamic of exclusion.”

“Far from any type of elitism, Jesus’ horizon isn’t for the privileged few capable of having the right knowledge or different levels of spirituality,” he said.

As on other trips, Francis’ words seemed to provide something for everyone. While leaders of the Communist nation might hear the sermon as a vindication of their socialist policies, which include free health care and education, critics might hear it as a rebuke of the entrenched elite who have amassed power.

Havana Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino thanked Francis for touching on issues “that are good and necessary for our consciences, which are so dormant and accustomed to mediocrity.”

He also thanked Francis for his role in helping Cuba and the United States restore diplomatic relations, and said he hoped that the benefits might extend “beyond the high political levels, and reach the people, especially the people in our Cuba and those who live in the United States.”

The Mass was not without incident. After Francis arrived, a few protesters tossed leaflets into the air and one reportedly made a short passionate plea to the pope. They were quickly apprehended by security officers.

The event took place in the plaza dominated by huge depictions of revolutionary figures Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, and a 350-foot tower to independence hero Jose Marti.

Internationally, the picturesque square is better known for being the site of rallies and marathon speeches by Fidel Castro when he was still in his prime.

Francis also used part of the mass to talk about the ongoing peace process in Colombia. As with the U.S.-Cuba rapprochement, Francis played a role behind the scenes in bringing the Colombian government and that country’s largest guerrilla group to the table to try to end their 50-year civil conflict.

Those talks, which are approaching the three-year mark, are taking place in Havana.

“We do not have the right to allow ourselves another failure on this road toward peace and reconciliation,” Francis said.

On Monday, the pope will go to Holgun and Santiago, before traveling to the United States on Tuesday on a four-day trip that will take him to Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

(c)2015 Miami Herald

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