Untitled - Convivencia

That is why it is logical and good that the HolyFather should listen to what the Church andthe people wish from his visit. But it is alsological and good that the Pope should wish toconvey his message without distorting hismission and being at the service of the Gospelof Jesus Christ, his only paradigm and sourceof inspiration. The results of a Pontifical visitdepend essentially on the smoothcommunication and the consistence with theidentity and the mission of all theprotagonists of such event: the Church, thepeople and the authorities.The president of the Catholic BishopsConference of Cuba who is Dionisio García,Archbishop from Santiago de Cuba has statedthat the Pope will come mainly to participate,as a pilgrim, in the celebrations of thediscovery of the Virgin of Charity image fromEl Cobre: the mother, queen and patron of theRepublic of Cuba. Thus the center of thePope’s presence in Cuba will be the visit andthe Eucharist that will be held in the NationalSanctuary-Basilica of El Cobre. And though theitinerary has not been announced, and itappears to be short, we expect he will visit theCapital too in order to have another religiouscelebration and pay his greetings to theauthorities of the country. We cannot eitherrule out that the Pontiff would haveencounters with more specific sectors of theChurch, for example, young people, laics,bishops, priests and nuns.SOME EXPECTATIONS AND POSSIBILITIESIt is a responsibility and a duty of each citizennot to stay indifferent toward the nationalevents. The preparation of a papal visit doesnot belong exclusively to the Church; it is acivic and religious task. All of us shouldexpress our opinion, suggest things and showwhat we feel inside us. We should show oursouls because above all it is the visit of aspiritual leader and we all have a soul and weall share the Nation’s soul. Here are some ofour expectations and opinions:1. Charity unites us. Unity is inclusion.“Charity unites us”. This is the slogan thatsummarizes the spirit of the celebrations ofthe 400 years of the discovery of the Virgin ofCharity image which is at the same time, theend and the center of the papal visit. Thencharity is the Christian name for love thatmakes us give ourselves to the others so itshould unite all Cubans and that’s why ourexpectation in that sense is that this unity willnot be uniformity in thinking, believing inoptions and in acts. We believe that this unityshould not exclude the different ones and theones that upset the government or the Church.We believe that this unity is not unanimity orunity around one only option. Any way, inonly one phrase which is, at the same time,our main expectation regarding this topic:Unity is inclusion. Thus the Pope’s visit shouldinclude all the representatives of the Cubannation, all of us children of the Virgin ofCharity: the believers, the non-believers, thegovernment, the opposition and the civilsociety, the ones who live in the Island andthe ones who live in the Diaspora. If any ofthese groups is left out of the papal visit andout of the life in Cuba the unity in charitywould not be possible. The degree ofinclusion before, during and after the visitcould be one of the expectations andopportunities for the preparation and theevaluation of the visit.2. The spirit that will promote the pacific andgradual structural changes.The pacific and gradual structural changes inthe political, economic, social, cultural andanthropologic environments are not thepurposes of the Pope’s visit but they are anurgent need of the people that the Pope willvisit and a need of the Church that will receivehim. These changes are not a task that thePope should carry out or a task that should becarried out by the Church in Cuba exclusivelybut each substantial reform has its foundationin the soul of the people and in the spirit ofthe citizens. Thus, everything that strengthensthe spirit of Cubans, men and women;everything that nurtures the Nation’s soul;everything that opens up the nation to thebest motions of the Spirit of Truth, Good andBeauty will revitalize the changes that havebeen patiently expected for a long time. Thedegree of spiritual depth before, during andafter this visit can be one of the expectationsand opportunities to prepare the visit, toexperience it and evaluate it.Ediciones ConvivenciaPinar del Río. 201298