By Philip Pullella
HAVANA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Pope John Paul used his trip to Cuba to bolster the Catholic Church and prepare it to push for the democratic changes he wants on the communist island.
Pursuing his purpose of leaving behind a stronger, resilient Church, the Pope served notice on the government that his local bishops and priests will continue his crusade for human rights and religious freedom long after he is gone.
"It does not end here. It begins here. After this visit, when priests give sermons in Cuba, they will be quoting the Pope left and right,'' a Vatican official said.
"They will be quoting him on human rights, they will be quoting him on democracy, they will be quoting him on political freedom and political prisoners. The effect can be powerful,'' said the official, who asked not to be named.
The future role of the Church, which recently won some new freedom from President Fidel Castro after nearly four decades of restrictions, was a recurring theme of the visit.
From the capital Havana to the provinces, the Pope beat the drum daily in asserting the Church's right to what he called "sufficient freedom and adequate needs.''
The Pope wants his Church to be a key player in the period leading up to the post-Castro era and beyond. Vatican sources say he is anxious that any eventual transition should be a bloodless process in which all sectors of society participate.
"After this visit the Cuban Church potentially can have a greater influence on all levels of society, from the intellectuals to the popular level. There is no alternative,'' the Vatican official said.
The Pope painted his vision of the Church, the only institution in Cuba apart from the government with an extensive structure, as the prime defender of the rights and freedoms of Cubans.
"While times and situtions may change there are always people who need the voice of the Church so that their difficulties, their suffering and their distress may be known,'' he said at his final Mass on Sunday.
To do this, the Pope told Cuban authorities, the Church needs total freedom. It could not properly defend the freedoms of individuals if it was not free itself.
"When the Church demands religious freedom, she is not asking for a gift, a privilege or a permission dependent on contingent situations, political strategies or the will of the authorities. Rather, she demands the effective recognition of an inalienable human right,'' he said in Havana on Sunday.
Vatican sources said they believed that the government's attitude to the local Church after the papal visit would be closely watched around the world.
"The Cuban Church's reading on whether things are opening up or not here may become a barometer for the policies of other nations and groups, such as the European Union, towards Cuba,'' a Vatican source said.
Realizing that the Church may become Castro's key interlocutor in the future, the Pope was not as confrontational with the government as he has been on some trips to other countries ruled by authoritarian leaders.
He made his points about freedom and democracy clearly but did not use a fiery preacher's voice or wag his finger as he sometimes has in the past.
An example of this softly, softly approach came on Saturday night when the Pontiff called for the release of political prisoners.
The Pope chose to make his appeal at a sparsely attended meeting with sick people at a shrine on the outskirts of Havana instead of during a nationally-televised mass.
The result -- the government got the message but it was not as embarrassed as it could have been if the Pontiff had used another venue for his appeal.
Sometimes the Pope preferred coded words to direct attacks.
Instead of using the words communism or Marxism, he said no ideology could ever replace Christ -- as Marxism tried to.
Instead of using the word socialism he told youth that no social "model'' could match the truth and justice offered by Christianity.
The Pope also appeared to intentionally soften the blow of his demands to Castro by saying some of the things the Cuban leader wanted to hear.
He forcefully condemned the U.S. embargo twice, once on national television. In a message to youth, he called all embargoes "deplorable.''
At his Sunday mass the Pope almost sounded like Castro himself when he he attacked "blind market forces'' and the negative aspects of "capitalist neo-liberalism.''
Castro, who was sitting the the front row, smiled an applauded. REUTERS
00:02 01-26-98