Blessing for freedom
Lech Walesa asks Pope Benedict XVI that his visit to Cuba serve as inspiration for changes on the island.
247 - In an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI, who begins a historic three-day visit to Cuba starting this Monday, Polish leader Lech Walesa asks for the pontiff's support in ending communism on the island. Founder of the Solidarity trade union, Walesa led the strike at the Gdansk shipyard, which in 1980 spread throughout the country and was one of the triggers for the collapse of the communist regime in Poland. The former Polish president expressed hope that Benedict XVI's visit to the island could serve as an inspiration to Cubans, just as John Paul II inspired the Polish movement for freedom.
This will be the first papal visit to Cuba since John Paul II was on the island in 1998, marking the resumption of relations between the Catholic Church and the communist government. Benedict XVI will remain on the island until Wednesday, and will celebrate two open-air masses, one in Santiago de Cuba and the other in Havana. He will meet with President Raúl Castro and possibly also with his brother Fidel, who handed over power to him six years ago due to health problems.
Read Walesa's letter to Benedict XVI.
His Holiness,
Today, Cuba will experience an exceptional moment. Cubans living on the island and in exile will meet, after years of separation, on the soil of their homeland, to hear their words.
When I think of his historic visit, my memory goes back to 1979, when his predecessor and our compatriot, John Paul II, came to Poland for his first apostolic visit. His pilgrimage not only awakened in us Poles the hope for change—above all, it liberated our will to do something. John Paul II's prayer in Victory Square in Warsaw—"Let His Spirit come and renew the face of the Earth, the face of this earth"—quickly bore fruit. A year later in Gdansk, Solidarity was born, a peaceful social protest movement that paved the way for Poland's freedom. I have no doubt that without the Pope's words, without his presence, the birth of Solidarity would not have been possible.
Today, Poles are free. However, around the world, millions still suffer from the violation of their human rights: the communist tyranny in Eastern Europe is still imposed on many nations. Cuba is one of these nations, where basic freedoms and civil rights enjoyed by other Western societies are lacking. Cubans who rise up to defend their fundamental and inalienable human rights, those who demand social justice, are imprisoned, persecuted, or worse. Cuban authorities refuse to listen to the demands of their own people, requests to participate in and influence the social and political changes taking place within their country.
Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that His Holiness's visit will contribute to positive changes in the life of the Cuban nation. I ask His Holiness to intercede for those who are imprisoned because of their convictions. I implore His Holiness to defend Cubans who, simply for asking for freedom, suffer persecution and humiliation.
I also hope that His Holiness's visit will open a new chapter in the history of Cuba. I hope that the Cuban authorities will initiate a democratic dialogue with Cuban society. And I hope that the lasting message of his visit will be a message of love—and of solidarity with the entire Cuban nation.
In solidarity with Cuba,
Lech Walesa