Pope meets with Castro, preaches to thousands in Cuba

When it comes to schools, "parents ... should be able to choose," the pope declared to applause from tens of thousands assembled for Mass in the dust and sweltering heat of an athletic field in this provincial city.

The demand for Catholic education was also believed high on John Paul's agenda for the most important official encounter of his five-day visit - a meeting yesterday with President Fidel Castro.

AP PHOTO Cuban president Fidel Castro presents Pope John Paul II with a 120-year-old biography of Father Felix Varela at the Palace of the Revolution in Cuba yesterday.

In just two addresses over less than 24 hours, on the first papal visit ever to this Caribbean nation, the pontiff has been blunt in listing what he considers failings - along with accomplishments - of Cuba's communist system.

And in this unprecedentedly open, high-profile criticism of the 39-year-old revolution, he has found help from a surprising quarter - the system itself.

The Communist Party newspaper, Granma, published Wednesday's papal arrival speech, including its call for "a climate of freedom" in Cuba. Even more important, the government is devoting hours of national television time to the papal events, giving the merely curious - in bars, shops and homes - a heavy helping of John Paul's message.

The Havana leadership clearly is taking a calculated risk that this may encourage dissent. But just as clearly it hopes to burnish its image with a display of tolerance and openness.

What the curious saw yesterday was an outpouring of deep emotion and affection for the 77-year-old pontiff after he flew in for a half-day in this heartland city.

"We feel it! We feel it! The pope is here among us!" the crowd chanted as the "popemobile," a white pickup truck topped by a bulletproof-glass compartment, wended its way toward the open-air altar.

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