By Andrew Cawthorne
HAVANA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A high-ranking U.S. clergyman on Tuesday praised encouraging steps by Cuban President Fidel Castro's government since Pope John Paul II's visit in January and urged more changes from Washington and Havana.
The Roman Catholic Cardinal of Boston, Bernard Law, also told foreign correspondents in Havana that he discussed Cuban affairs directly with Castro and other senior local leaders for three hours over dinner on Monday night.
``It was a dinner of friendship, of respect,'' said Law, a regular visitor to Cuba in recent years and an opponent of the U.S. economic embargo on the communist-run Caribbean island.
Law arrived on Monday on a four-day visit at the invitation of the local Roman Catholic Church, whose head, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, is a personal friend.
He praised recent Cuban government measures relating to the church, such as the granting of permission to bring 40 more priests and religious workers from abroad, and the permanent restoration of Christmas Day as a national holiday.
``These are steps. What is essential is the institutionalization of change, like with the Christmas holiday ....It's not enough to grant concessions,'' Law said.
The cardinal urged further change from Havana, such as more religious freedom and access to state media for the church; greater liberty of expression and choice in general; and a less all-enveloping control of society by the state.
``We already have something, but we need much more ....We need concrete advances,'' he said, adding that the pope's five- day visit was a watershed for the Cuban church, and ``a new point of departure'' for U.S.-Cuban relations.
Separated by just 90 miles (145 km) of sea, Cuba and the United States have been political foes since soon after Castro's 1959 revolution and later declaration of a socialist society.
The cardinal reiterated his criticism of Washington's 36- year-old embargo on Cuba, saying it ``achieves nothing for Cuban society, and lifting the embargo could have a very positive effect ...for young and old, men and women on this island.''
The United States hopes the embargo will pressure Castro, now 72 and nearing the 40th anniversary of his revolution, into reforming his one-party political system.
Law, who is considered an influential figure within the Roman Catholic Church, said he had the impression President Bill Clinton was ``open to consider changes'' on Cuba policy.
``What changes? We shall see,'' he added.
The cardinal was ``very happy'' about an initiative by a group of U.S. Congress members, and some senior former administration officials, to create a bipartisan national commission to review current policy toward Cuba -- an idea he proposed in March.
Law said it was ``a very good meeting,'' during which he had a chance to express his ``dreams'' for Cuba, and also to discuss Cuba's solidarity measures with hurricane-battered Central America such as the sending of doctors and the forgiving of $50 million in foreign debt owed by Nicaragua.
Law presided at a Roman Catholic Mass in Havana Cathedral later Tuesday, and was due to visit social projects and give a talk to church leaders on Wednesday, before his scheduled return to the United States on Thursday.
20:02 12-08-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited