Castro downplays pope's role

2005-04-08 08:23

Havana - Cuban President Fidel Castro minimised the role John Paul II played in bringing down communism in the former Soviet bloc, focusing instead on common ground in a speech on Thursday dedicated to the late pope.

Castro also urged Cubans to respect all religious - and nonreligious - beliefs in the televised address, which has become a weekly event on the communist-run island.

"It's true that the pope was very critical of communism," Castro said. "But he also became very critical of the capitalist system."

The Cuban leader recalled a visit he made to Rome in which he realised many of the public remarks he was making coincided with what the pope was saying.

"It was practically the same thing," he said.

Castro has praised the pope for his compassion for the world's poor, his anti-war politics, and his rejection of a long-standing trade embargo against Cuba by the United States.

He said that religion, not politics, shaped John Paul's view on communism, and that one man could not be credited with ending a political and economic system.

"If one day Cuban socialism comes crumbling down, no one is to blame except ourselves," he said.

For more than a month now, Castro has used the weekly platform to announce new measures by the government to ease Cubans' economic pains, including revaluation of the island's currency and increased payments for citizens on welfare.

But this week, the Cuban leader said it was more fitting to dedicate his address to John Paul.

Castro also attended a funeral Mass in Havana for the late pope on Monday, and over the weekend declared three days of official mourning in which anniversary celebrations of communist organisations and baseball games were cancelled.

Castro appeared passionate and personal in Thursday's speech, revisiting his days as a child growing up among a religious family and attending Roman Catholic schools, including one run by the Jesuits.

"I wasn't around anyone atheist," he said.

But teaching methods at the time and his "rebellious character" kept him distant from religion, prompting him to choose a different path, he said.

"No one can force me to believe in something," Castro said.

Nonetheless, Castro urged Cubans to respect all religious beliefs.

"These are personal affairs for each person, and all faiths deserve the utmost respect," he said. "And I've always thought that."

Cuba became officially atheist after the 1959 revolution that thrust Castro into power, though it never broke ties with the Vatican. But in 1991, the government removed references to atheism in the constitution and allowed religious believers to join the Communist Party.

- AP