Benedict: Cubans should seek new models

Traditional Marxism no longer works and Cubans should seek "new models," Pope Benedict XVI said ahead of his arrival in the communist island country Monday. "It is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality," Benedict said on his flight Friday from the Vatican to Mexico, where he spent the weekend before flying to Santiago de Cuba, the country's second-largest city, about 540 miles southeast of the capital, Havana. Benedict, who will also visit Havana, said he was ready to help Cuba find new ways of moving forward. "New models must be found with patience and in a constructive way," he said. Told of Benedict's comments, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said, "We will listen with all respect to His Holiness." But he added, "Our people have deep convictions developed over our country's long history." Benedict's trip is officially timed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of a statue of Our Lady of Charity, or the Virgin of Charity, the patroness of Cuba, admired even by Cuban communists as a symbol of nationalist unity, The Washington Post said. His trip is the first by a Roman Catholic pontiff since Pope John Paul II paid a historic visit to the island in January 1998. That visit was controversial, with many in the ruling Communist Party objecting to his presence and broadcasts of his homilies and open-air masses successfully negotiated only at the last minute, USA Today reported. The church's profile has risen sharply since then, amid a religious tolerance not seen since the 1959 revolution and church leaders campaigning for political and economic freedoms, The New York Times reported. At the same time, the church has struggled to attract worshipers -- less than 5 percent of the population attends Catholic churches, the Los Angeles Times reported. Sixty percent of the Cuban population is Catholic, the U.S. State Department says. The church also faces criticism from dissidents it has grown too cozy with Cuba's tight circle of decision makers, The New York Times said. The pope wishes "to revive a somewhat dormant faith, a faith perhaps somewhat faded, but one that is present in the hearts of the Cuban people," Cardinal Jaime Ortega said on state-run television in advance of Benedict's visit. "He comes to confirm our faith and reaffirm those Christian values," said Ortega, who in 2010 negotiated the release of more than 100 political prisoners, many arrested in a 2003 crackdown on dissidents. In December 2011, Cuban President Raul Castro freed 2,900 prisoners, citing the upcoming papal visit. At the same time, 70 members of dissident group Las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White -- protesting on behalf of political prisoners -- were arrested March 18 as they held a silent march through Havana. "We only want a minute to communicate with" the pope, group leader Berta Soler was quoted by USA Today as saying, adding that many of them were beaten before their release. "We are marginalized, oppressed, and the church must hear and protect us," she said. The official Communist Party newspaper Granma dismissed the Ladies in White as "mercenaries of the [U.S.] empire." The Ladies in White marched in Havana again Sunday -- this time in front the world's news media and were not arrested. Castro was to greet Benedict on his arrival. There are no plans reported for Fidel Castro to meet with Benedict, but Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope would be available if the elder Castro -- excommunicated by Pope John XXIII in 1962 -- expressed a desire for an audience. Also in Cuba during Benedict's visit is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who arrived during the weekend to begin radiation therapy to treat the return of his cancer. Lombardi said he personally informed the pope and his entourage Sunday morning about Chavez's visit. He said they had not received a request from Chavez for an audience. "Anything can change. I don't know," Lombardi told reporters Sunday afternoon in Leon, Mexico. "This is totally new. It wasn't in the program."