Cuban President Raul Castro visited Pope Francis on Sunday, May 10, 2015 and said that if Pope Francis keeps going the way he is, he will return to praying and to the church. They met for an hour, which is considerably longer than most global dignitaries. U.S. President Barak Obama only got 45 minutes and Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, got only 40 minutes or so.
Raul Castro is the dictator of Cuba and is the brother of Fidel Castro who brought Communism into power in Cuba in the 1960s.
Castro poured praises on Francis. The pontiff “is a Jesuit, and I, in some way, am too,” Castro said at a news conference. “I always studied at Jesuit schools.”
“When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his Masses, and with satisfaction,” he continued. Then he added this startling statement. “I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the church, and I’m not joking,” he said.
Speaking of the friendly relations with the Vatican, Castro said, “I am from the Cuban Communist Party, that doesn’t allow (religious) believers, but now we are allowing it, it’s an important step.”
Castro again thanked the pope for aiding rapprochement between the United States and Cuba and told the pope about the sentiments of the Cuban people in anticipation of his visit to the island in September on his way to the United States.
Castro stopped in Rome on his return from Moscow where he attended celebration on the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis at the end of World War II.
Notice that Castro was trained in Jesuit schools. He understands the thinking of the Jesuits and is very friendly with them in spite of his Communist ideology. The Jesuits will certainly assist in helping Castro develop even closer ties and collaboration with the Catholic Church.
Because the Vatican sided with Cuba in its dispute with the United States, Communist Castro and Cuba are now on very good terms with the Vatican. The Vatican will now have much more freedom of movement domestically and also politically in Cuba because of its helping hand. You can be sure that the bishops will work very closely with Castro and other Cuban officials. Rome and Cuba have reached across the gulf to clasp hands together.
Whenever the Vatican provides help or assistance, there is always a debt to pay. No doubt Castro will do much to benefit and give preference to the Catholic Church in Cuba in the months and years to come. All of this is a serious warning to God’s true people in Cuba and beyond.
And by peace he shall destroy many, Daniel 8:25. (See also Revelation 13:3).
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