Francis, the Dalai Lama and Raul Castro

by Chris Chatteris SJ · January 7, 2015

ACTING EDITOR: FR CHRIS CHATTERIS SJ

Did the turn towards the world of the Second Vatican Council include a pivot in the direction of politics? Two events towards the end of 2014 answered this question with a resounding yes.

(CNS photo/Stefan Wermuth, Reuters)

In the first, Pope Francis found himself caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place when he had to choose between meeting the Dalai Lama and meeting the needs of the Church in China.

There were howls of disapproval around the world, when he appeared to cave in to the Chinese authorities, especially since the general policy of the Vatican is to meet all-comers and talk to everyone.

Here in South Africa there was the added unpleasant resonance due to the governments recent refusal of a visa for the Dalai Lama to attend a gathering of Nobel Laureates in Cape Town.

Archbishop Tutu was outspoken in his criticism of Francis and said he would ask him to change his mind. No doubt Francis would dearly love to meet the Dalai Lama but it seems to be one of those situations where he had to sacrifice his own public image for the sake of vulnerable others, in this case Chinese Catholics. Whether Beijing will reciprocate remains to be seen.

The second event was the revelation that Francis had been instrumental in the detente which is breaking out between the United States and Cuba.

President Obama’s announcement of a new chapter in the relations between the two states came as a media bombshell. Obviously the quietest of diplomacy had been going on for some time, but Obama made it clear that the role of Francis was vital and the President went out of his way to thank him.

Obama has some persuading to do. Cuba and the Castros have been the great communist survivors in the Western hemisphere and the regime has seen out US president after US president despite over 50 years of US sanctions.

They were imposed in 1960 after the Castro revolution of 1959. Then came the debacle of the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion followed closely by the terrifying crisis in 1962. Cuba installed Soviet ballistic missiles on its territory aimed at the US and President John F Kennedy risked a nuclear war to confront the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev to have them removed.

Since then, Cuba has survived, standing as a constant reminder of the limits of US power, and for some Americans on the right, this thaw signals a final humiliating capitulation.

For some Cuban Americans, making an agreement with Cuba and the Castros is tantamount to a deal with the devil. Although they are Catholics, the role of the pope has drawn sharp criticism in this migrant community.

Marco Rubio, a Cuban American with pretensions to be a Republican presidential candidate, is clearly unhappy with developments. One Cuban leader in Miami is quoted as saying that he is a Catholic without a pope!

However, many Cuban Americans welcome the change and the opportunities it promises easier travel, business contacts and economic growth.

The younger generation, who did not experience the suffering of their elders who fled the Castro regime, seem generally more open to the change.

Whereas Obama’s move may feel like a sudden and radical change in US geopolitics, the Church’s policy has been relatively consistent and part of a continuum going back to St John Paul II.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis wrote a booklet entitled Dialogues between John Paul II and Castro, detailing the attempts of John Paul and Fidel Castro to find common ground.

The 1990s marked a definite thaw in Vatican-Cuban relations thanks to John Paul’s 1998 visit. The country changed its official stance on religion in a very significant way by becoming a secular rather than an atheist state.

Restrictions on the Church were relaxed and in 1998 John Paul blessed a stone to inaugurate the building of a seminary which was finally opened in 2010. Christmas was restored as a national holiday.

In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI paid a three-day visit to the island, having asked Havana’s Cardinal Jaime Ortega to remain in office, despite being 75, because of his ability to work well with Raul Castro.

Today there is something of a Catholic revival happening in Cuba, though human and financial resources are sorely lacking.

As a general rule, the Vatican tries to maintain relationships with politicians and regimes of all stripes. Jesus made no apology about his contact with sinners. If we were only to talk to politicians who were saints, this would restrict our diplomatic activity severely!

Of course, this means talking to people with whom one does not necessarily always agree. Many Catholics find it distasteful that pro-abortion politicians or dictators can be received at papal audiences.

History will pass judgment on the policy. There is a debate going on at the moment among historians about the role played by John Paul in the fall of the Soviet Union.

He himself is reported to have modestly said that it was tottering and he only gave it a bit of a push. Others say that his personal role and his de facto political alliance with the then US president Ronald Reagan (which irked some Catholics) was the winning combination that brought down a vast, oppressive empire.

History will say that John Paul was a moderating influence who kept hotheads on both sides in check at crucial moments and that this contributed to a peaceful transition.

These debates will continue, but the Church will persevere with its policy of turning to the (political) world. Patient, diplomatic work and dialogue, with the ultimate aim of peace rather than political point-scoring, will continue.

Its often messy but it is a strong Catholic and papal suit, and the recent Cuba-US agreement seems to have vindicated it once again.