In announcing the measures, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright suggested they were intended as a bridge to an expanding Cuban Catholic Church, which embodies ``the new possibilities that exist outside the [Cuban] government's control.''

Therefore, you might say it took an act of God to repeal the restrictions imposed in February 1996 when Castro MiGs shot down two U.S. civilian airplanes in international airspace, killing four humanitarian workers.

Albright's announcement seemed like a concession to the pleas of U.S. Catholic leaders who have pressed for reciprocity in dealing with Cuba. After all, they say, Castro has demonstrated goodwill in allowing the Cuban church space.

While I am all for humanitarian assistance, I have tried to follow the logic in such assessments and have come up with disturbing gaps. First of all, I don't believe that Castro gave Cuban Catholics anything. If there is more space for worship, it's because the faithful took it. The Pope's visit intensified a spirit already moving throughout Cuban congregations.

Second, reciprocity is a bizarre concept when it comes to Cuba.

Traveler questions

While Fidel Castro praised the new steps as ``constructive,'' is he ready to put up? If Havana-bound Cuban Americans are permitted to take direct flights out of Miami, does that mean they actually would be allowed in? Or would Castro continue his arbitrary visa methods?

In a letter to Albright last week, the head of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for a Free Cuba outlined other areas where the Cuban government fails to reciprocate.

``Both humanitarian assistance and the opportunity for family visits are used by the regime to extract extortionary fees from Cubans and Cuban Americans,'' Frank Calzon wrote.

Emigrating Cubans must pay for their plane tickets out of Cuba in dollars, he notes. All their possessions are confiscated by the regime. Castro, he adds, imposes a 100 percent customs tax on most humanitarian assistance not destined for his government.

Unequal opportunity

``Much of Cuba's suffering could be resolved almost overnight if Castro were to apply to Cubans the same `laws' that provide privileges and business opportunities to foreigners on the island,'' he wrote.

Albright denied the new measures were a response to anything Castro had done. It was a smart thing to say. After all, it's Castro's government that repeatedly has broken the most critical point of the U.S.-Cuba immigration pact, that continues to jail returned refugees in violation of the agreement.

Reciprocity is an unrealistic expectation from Castro. Still, opening doors to the Cuban people is a wise investment. And these steps should be welcome, as long as the larger picture remains in focus.

These restrictions on travel and remittances didn't make a dent in the underground people-to-people contact flourishing between exiles and the island. The great surge of humanitarian support will continue to happen with or without any embargo.

Most important, the next time anyone in the administration wants to reach out to the Cuban people, let them begin by reviewing the immigration pact, which itself imposes harsh sanctions against the most desperate of Cuba.