ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, November 20, 1996           TAG: 9611200069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: VATICAN CITY
SOURCE: Associated Press

CASTRO DEALS: POPE TO VISIT PRELATE'S ACTIONS TO BE UNRESTRICTED

Fidel Castro won a long-sought pledge Tuesday from Pope John Paul II to visit communist Cuba next year, capping a triumphant stay in Rome by the Latin American revolutionary.

But, as the Vatican made clear, the pope accepted the invitation only after Castro agreed to the usual conditions for papal trips - that the pope can travel anywhere and meet anyone. The Cuban leader had hoped to restrict the pope's visit and may have paid a risky price for papal recognition.

``The only thing missing is the date in 1997,'' said papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. Preparations will begin ``shortly,'' he said. A Cuban stop in October during an already scheduled trip to Brazil is one possibility.

Cuba is the only Latin American country John Paul has yet to visit, and people questioned for years whether he would ever go to the communist island. That all ended during Castro's historic, 35-minute audience in the pope's private library.

On one side was a bearded 70-year-old Cuban with a Catholic education whose revolution has endured for nearly four decades and made him a cultural icon for the left. On the other: a Pole who leads nearly 1 billion Roman Catholics and helped bring down communism in the Soviet bloc, deepening Cuba's isolation.

Although the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba lacks the strength of the church in John Paul's Poland, the pope could become a rallying point for anti-Castro Cubans.

``Of course, I would not impose conditions. We will treat him with respect,'' Castro said.

His tone was a great contrast to 1990, when a possible papal trip was shelved after Castro accused the church of ``anti-revolutionary'' meddling.

The Cuban leader apparently hopes Vatican influence can help ease the 34-year U.S. embargo against Cuba, recently stiffened by the Helms-Burton Act intended to discourage foreign companies from investing in Cuba.

The embargo on Cuba did not come up during Castro's meeting with John Paul, Navarro said, although the pope opened the World Food Summit in Rome last week condemning the use of embargoes.

The pope is seeking greater political liberty and more freedom for the church in Cuba, such as better access to the media and permission for foreign priests to work there to bolster a dwindling clergy of 200 men.

Reports from Cuban church officials indicate the government has given the church a greater opening recently while keeping the lid on other dissent.

Navarro refused to say whether the pope raised the issue of human rights, but a Vatican statement after the meeting called for the ``normalization'' of conditions for the church in Cuba.

LENGTH: Medium:   60 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. Fidel Castro appears to give a thumbs-up Tuesday in 
          the Sistine Chapel; he's actually pointing to the famous 
          Michelangelo mural. color.