Pope Francis to Possibly Meet Fidel Castro in Cuba

Pope Francis will meet with Fidel Castro during his upcoming visit to Cuba if the former president’s health is strong enough, according to news reports.

Citing a senior Vatican official who is helping to organize the three-day visit, Bloomberg reported that the meeting would probably be decided with little advanced notice because of Castro’s frail health.

“At the moment, it is not on the agenda,” a Vatican spokesman told the Guardian.
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The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff played a critical role in brokering the diplomatic thaw between Cuba and the US, and a possible meeting between Francis and Fidel could help spur further reconciliation between the two sides.

In 1998, shortly after Pope John Paul II’s visit, the man who was still known as Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio – now Pope Francis – authored a book called Dialogues Between John Paul II and Fidel Castro. It contains a stern critique of socialism and Castro’s revolution, but in it Bergoglio also insisted that dialogue would help bring about an end to Cuba’s isolation and would ultimately promote democracy.

According to the official Vatican schedule, Francis is due to meet with Fidel’s brother and the current Cuban president, Raul Castro, in Havana’s Palace of the Revolution, on 20 September.

The two have already met at the Vatican in May, where Castro thanked the pope for his intervention in the US negotiations. After the meeting, the Cuban president gushed enthusiastically about his encounter, saying that he was close to finding his way back to the church.

“If the pope keeps going the way he’s going, I’ll come back to the Catholic church,” he said at a news conference. “When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his masses, and with satisfaction.”

Source: The Guardian