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Pope John Paul's crusade against communism
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The pope in Beirut last year
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January 21, 1998
Web posted at: 9:29 a.m. EST (1429 GMT)
HAVANA (CNN) -- Ever since he became the head of the Roman
Catholic Church 18 years ago, Pope John Paul II has
been pursuing a relentless crusade for his vision of how
mankind should behave. And that vision has, at least in part,
contributed significantly to political changes in various
parts of the world.
The pope's mission has taken him into many of the world's
most troubled regions, including Beirut, which he visited
last year and where he preached peaceful coexistence between
Muslims and Christians.
In April this year, the pontiff went to the Bosnian capital
Sarajevo, where the messenger of peace and hope tried to help
heal the wounds of vicious conflict.
But in many ways it is a lifelong battle against Communism
that truly shapes this pope's place in history.
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The pope visited his native land of Poland in 1979,
within months of taking office
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That battle began in 1979 when, within months of taking
office, he visited his native Poland and began to rally a
subject nation and helped set in motion sweeping democratic
changes.
The pontiff stood up for the independent trade
union movement Solidarity and helped inspire a revolution of
ideas -- not just in Poland but across the Iron Curtain
-- that eventually lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The most-traveled pope in the history of the Roman Catholic
Church has stood firm against almost every military dictator
or communist government he has confronted.
Cuba, one of the last communist outposts, is an obvious
target for the pope, whose church there has been virtually
run into the ground during the rule of veteran leader Fidel
Castro.
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Castro meets Pope John Paul II for the first time in
Rome in 1996
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Castro and the pope met for the first time in Rome in 1996.
While the Vatican has always maintained that church members
should be allowed to practice their religion unhindered and
unimpeded by political dogma and restrictions, the pope
decries economic embargoes -- not just against Cuba, but
against any nation -- as immoral.
Both revolutionary leader Castro and the head of the Roman
Catholic Church have powerful reasons to use and possibly try
to outmaneuver one another.
To Castro, liberation mainly means shaking off the
decades-old U.S. trade embargo. To the island's Catholic
leaders and the pope, liberation means greater
freedom for the church.
For the time being, it remains unclear what repercussions the
papal visit to Cuba will have on the Communist nation. For
decades, Cubans have only known once voice: that of the
Communist Party. The presence of an alternative voice -- even
just for the five days of the papal visit -- can be seen as a
major change in itself.
Correspondent Brent Sadler contributed to this report.
Icons at the Crossroads |
Cuba and Catholicism |
An Exile Returns
Testing the Embargo |
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