Humanitarian donations to Cuba are increasing rapidly and enhancing the Catholic Church's influence on the island, an international trade expert said Saturday during a conference on Cuban religion at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.

``The church is able to generate a following because they have the medicine, the food, the soup kitchens,'' said Pamela Falk, international trade professor at the City University of New York.

``My point is not that they are buying a constituency, but they are creating good by being able to nourish the people both spiritually and nutritionally,'' Falk said. ``My bottom line is, it is establishing the Catholic Church to be a respected voice and force during any transitions in Cuba.''

On the first day of two-day University of Miami symposium called ``Faith and Power: Religion in Contemporary Cuba,'' religion, politics and economics were inextricably bound in a series of talks on topics ranging from Afro-Cuban religion to the impact of Pope John Paul II's historic visit to the island this year.

Despite some signs of progress, such as a growing independent Catholic press in Cuba, there is still little religious liberty on the island, several participants said.

``Lately, the Catholic Church has been demanding of more openings,'' said Miami-Dade Community College professor Juan Clark. ``But they are in a closed environment fighting with a lion that is loose and they are without much recourse.''

Archdiocese of Miami Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Wenski warned conference participants against reducing religion in Cuba to mere politics. ``Religious faith deals with the transcendent,'' Wenski said. ``When we reduce it just to a political issue many times we miss the point and we misinterpret what's actually going on.

``If the Cuban problem is going to be solved it's going to have to involve . . . a whole lot of forgetting and forgiving,'' he said. ``Right now in the church we see that reconciliation taking place. This is not reconciliation between state and church, or party and individual, but between brothers and sisters, Cubans and Cubans.''

On a recent visit to Cuba, the bishop met a volunteer for Caritas Cuba, the church's humanitarian arm on the island, who recalled being taunted as a child because of her Catholic faith.

``Now the teacher who used to make fun of her comes knocking at her office saying, `Can you get me some medicine?' '' Wenski said. ``And she's getting the medicine. That's the sign of hope.''

Gladys Perez, 51, a Miami bank vice president, approached Wenski after his speech to say she has experienced that kind of reconciliation. Perez left Cuba as a child through Operation Pedro Pan. She was furious two years ago when the Catholic Church delivered food to the island after Hurricane Lili. She went on Spanish-language radio to denounce the church.

But after visiting Cuba and hearing from anti-Castro activists there that they welcome humanitarian aid from the U.S., she started sending food and medicine to the island herself. ``I followed my heart,'' she said.