Cruise to see pope divides Cuban exiles

By FABIOLA SANTIAGO
Herald Staff Writer

Vision Travel is handling arrangements for the Archdiocese of Miami cruise ship that will make the pilgrimage from Miami to Havana for the papal visit. Prices depend on cabin size and whether people share it with one or three others. The most and least expensive cabins are sold out; in-between cabins in the range of $960 are available. There are additional port and tax charges of $103.50 and $60 for mandatory insurance that covers a refund in case of illness. For more information, call (305) 444-8484.

At the Freyre home in Kendall, where Cuba lives on peach walls and bookshelves filled with Cuban art, history and mementos, a dilemma has placed husband and wife on opposite sides of a debate stirring Catholic Cuban exiles.

At issue is whether to join a church-sponsored pilgrimage aboard a cruise ship sailing from Miami to Havana for Pope John Paul II's visit Jan. 21-25.

``I'm going to go and say, `I am your sister from Miami and I'm here to support you in your faith,' '' said Elena Valdes-Crespo. ``I prayed a lot and examined my conscience before making that decision.''

Her husband, Pedro A. Freyre, also soul-searched but reached a different decision.

``Those barbarians threw us out of our country, stole our lives, violated the ideals of my grandparents, threw my brother in jail,'' Freyre said. ``I won't go to Cuba as long as Fidel Castro is in power. I can support and pray from here.''

In South Florida's Catholic Cuban community, the Pope cruise has become a flash point of debate in homes like the Freyres', in churches and workplaces, on Spanish-language radio, in exile and civic group meetings.

The issue intertwines religion and politics -- and a powerful church that fostered change in other communist strongholds such as Poland and Czechoslovakia.

``We all would love to go, but the internal conflict is tremendous,'' said lawyer Rafael Peñalver, a devout Catholic. ``Who wouldn't want to be there -- to see the Pope in our homeland is a dream come true -- but not under these circumstances. We have a dream of a free Cuba without Castro that would be compromised by going.''

Peñalver, a close friend of Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Roman, the Cuban community's spiritual icon, sent this week a strongly-worded letter to Miami Archbishop John Clement Favalora protesting the cruise.

The cruise idea is ``insensitive'' and ``frivolous,'' Peñalver said, for a community that saw its priests and nuns expelled from Cuba -- aboard a ship -- in 1961, the beloved Roman among them. Roman has said he will not go.

`A lot of pain'

``The church is making a tremendous mistake,'' Peñalver said. ``The first thing the Catholic church taught me was `Thou shall not hurt nor cause pain,' and the church's actions are causing a lot of pain to the Cuban community.''

``They are doing this in complete disregard to the sentiments of Cuban Catholics in Miami,'' said Carlos Saladrigas, president of The Vincam Group, and a member of Mesa Redonda, a Hispanic Non-Group of civic leaders who meets regularly to discuss community issues. ``This is divisive of the Cuban community.''

Most mainstream exile organizations oppose the cruise and expressed their feelings during a massive march along Calle Ocho last weekend. Several powerful exile groups have met with high-ranking church officials to discuss their concerns and the cruise's effect on community harmony. Others have written letters of protest to the Archdiocese.

The cruise, many fear, is pitting long-time allies on the issue of a free Cuba -- the Catholic church and Cuban exiles -- against each other. And they are upset that the Archdiocese of Miami, long supported by exiles, did not consult the exile community before announcing it.

``This is creating a schism, and the bottom line is the pope is going to Cuba for four days, but we have to live for a long, long time with the divisions that are brought about by all this,'' said Armando Gonzalez, a past chairman of the civic group FACE (Facts About Cuban Exiles), which has met with bishops.

Much room on board

It's difficult to measure support for the cruise. But if the numbers who have bought tickets are an indication, enthusiasm is minimal.

In a ship with space for 1,000 to 1,200 passengers, only 200 had bought tickets by this week although 1,500 have requested the application packet. Vision Travel is making the arrangements.

Cruise organizer Auxiliary Bishop Thomas R. Wenski said people are hesitant because of the paperwork involved and visa process required by Cuba. But he is hoping to gain more participants once the date draws nearer and visas are more readily approved.

``The cruise is going and we won't have two to three hundred people. We're still a month away,'' Wenski said. ``Anyhow, we've already bought the boat.

``Certainly many people are debating the issue in their hearts. A lot of people have written me asking me not to go,'' Wenski said. ``The reaction is emotional, they want to go to Cuba but they don't want to support Castro. We are not supporting Castro, we are supporting the church.''

The cruise, Wenski said, is not insensitive to the exile community.

``The whole idea was developed out of sensitivity because many people are sensitive about the embargo and dollars going to Cuba,'' he said. ``The cruise ship allows people go to Cuba and not spend money [meals and overnight stay are on board]. It's a misunderstanding and a misinterpretation.''

Church's invitation

Exile leaders were not consulted because it was the Cuban church that invited exiles to the island, Wenski said.

``We did consult with the Cuban church and they said we should come,'' Wenski said. ``The church in Cuba sees us as being supportive of them and the writers of these letters cannot presume to think for the church in Cuba. If we turn down their invitation, we also risk being insensitive and not only hurting the feelings of the church in Cuba, but hurting their position as they seek to get more space.''

But anti-Castro exile activists fear the cruise may be setting a dangerous precedent. With one successful cruise, other groups may decide to ask the Treasury Department for permission to make similar trips to the island, cracking open a door to the embargo.
``That's the kind of business Cuba is desperately looking to expand,'' Peñalver said. ``It requires no infrastructure, it's quick dollars, and can be easily manipulated by taking tourists from ship to buses to tourist sights without them mingling with the people on the streets. If the church does it, why can't another group?''

Others see even further political connotations.

`No bad faith'

``The whole world thinks of Miami as the concentration of exiles, and pictures and video of a cruise ship sailing from Miami to Cuba would create the perception of a normalization of relations between exiles and Castro,'' Luisa Garcia Toledo, a longtime activist.

Garcia Toledo, however, says she sees ``no bad faith'' in the Archdiocese's decision to go ahead with the cruise. Meetings with church officials have been cordial and respectful, she and others said.

``These are just two ways of thinking,'' she said, ``and we are both firm in our positions.''

Other community activists are worried about the potential for trouble during embarkation in Miami, aboard the cruise, or during the exiles' brief stay in Cuba at a time in which the whole world will be watching -- and judging.

``I'm worried that someone pretending to go pray will cause a problem and that it will once again have repercussions on how exiles in Miami are viewed,'' said FACE chairwoman Sandra Gonzalez-Levy. ``This is extremely emotional and not everyone can control themselves. I don't think the Catholic Church thought sufficiently about the negative possibilities.''

Among the alternatives exiles have put forth is that the cruise ship leave from another port in Florida, one without the emotional ties of Miami, heart of exile. But that's not possible at this late date, organizers said.

Respectful disagreement

The best scenario, civic activists said, is now for the cruise to sail out of Miami -- without incident -- with those who wish to go.

``For me to go would be like treason to my family,'' said Gonzalez-Levy, who was sent to exile alone at age 10 after a brother was sent to prison. She never saw her parents again until she was 21, married and had a child. Another brother disappeared trying to get the family out of Cuba during the Camarioca boatlift of 1965. ``But I understand why others would want to go for religious reasons. We have to tolerate other points of view.''

The Freyres -- whose family ties to Cuban history date back to the War of Independence -- resolved their differences by ``agreeing to disagree.''

``I respect her right, and that of others, to go,'' Freyre said.

Meanwhile, Elena Valdes-Crespo is preparing for a pilgrimage she knows will be emotion-filled. It will be her first time on Cuban soil since she left 37 years ago, a frightened 12-year-old.

``This should not be allowed to divide us,'' Valdes-Crespo said. ``We are divided enough already.''

``Surely,'' Freyre said, ``this will be a test of the maturity of the Cuban exile.''