MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New Cuban president meets with top Vatican official

Raul Castro with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone met with newly-affirmed Cuban leader Raul Castro just two days after the ageing dictator Fidel Castro relinquished power.

According to Granma, the official Cuban publication, Cardinal Bertone - who serves as Pope Benedict's Secretary of State, offered greetings to Fidel Castro while noting that the objective of his visit was to mark the 10th anniversary of the visit of John Paul II to the island. After the cardinal's meeting with Raul Castro, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said their meeting was "cordial, frank and respectful", according to Granma. Cardinal Bertone delivered a lecture at the Aula Magna at the University of Havana's Aula Magna entitled "Culture and Fundamental Ethics of Human Living." The cardinal carmelango paid homage to Cuban heroes such as José Martí and Father Félix Varela. According to Granma, Cardinal Bertone told listeners at the University of Havana that the Holy See has made "advances to move the United States to eliminate this blockade", in reference to the decades-long embargo on the importation of Cuban goods to the US and the export of most US good to the island. According to the Cuban press report, the cardinal said that the embargo is "an oppression upon the people of Cuba" and a "violation of its independence". Relations between the Holy See and the Cuban revolutionary government have been strained for many years, but warmed significantly after John Paul II's visit in the 1990s as well as end of the former Soviet Union's patronage of the island republic. The cardinal expressed approval of Cuba's release of four political dissidents from prison, a gesture that was heralded by Cuba's state-controlled media. While the Catholic Church has not been allowed to build new churches, nor have access to radio broadcasting or education, Cuban state-controlled television did broadcast live a Mass celebrated by the cardinal while Granma published a statement on February 26 by the Catholic bishops urging government resolution of the problems faced by the majority of Cubans. Cardinal Bertone has since February 21 visited several Cuban cities where he met party dignitaries. At Santa Clara, the cardinal inaugurated a statue of John Paul II, while at Santiago de Cuba he urged young people to pray the rosary.