Havana, Cuba, Feb 21, 2008 / 11:38 am
On Thursday morning, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone met with the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops (COCC) and delivered a message from Pope Benedict to the people of Cuba. While praising the legacy of Christianity, he also called on Cubans to renew their efforts to evangelize.
The meeting with the Cuban bishops marks the beginning of a 6-day visit by the Vatican’s Secretary of State to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s 1998 visit to the island nation.
In his speech delivered at the Saint John Marie Vianney Priests’ House in Havana, Cardinal Bertone began by recalling Pope John Paul II’s visit. “Remembering, ten years later, those days that were unforgettable for the Cuban Church and the Cuban population, lived in front of the excited eyes of the whole world,” began Benedict XVI , “is no doubt a duty of gratitude for my revered predecessor” and an opportunity to “renew the evangelizing impulse that he left deeply imprinted in everybody’s heart.”
“I spiritually feel amongst you, as is proven by the presence of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone”, Pope Benedict wrote, professing his “esteem” for the local clergy and “sympathy with the aspirations and concerns of all Cubans”.