“Serve people, not ideas,” Pope Francis tells Cubans at Havana Mass

“Serve people, not ideas,” Pope Francis tells Cubans at Havana Mass. September. 22, 2015 06:59. kyle@donga.com.

Pope Francis gave a Mass Sunday at Revolution Square in Havana, the biggest event of his trip to Cuba, with tens of thousands of people attending. “Serve people, not ideas,” Pope said in his sermon.

"Service is never ideological for we do not serve ideas, we serve people," he said in his homily of the Mass, which was attended by President Raul Castro and Argentina President Cristina Fernande. His message can be taken as offering international society’s hopes for Cuban people who have lived under Castro brothers’ uninterrupted rule for 56 years since the 1959 revolution. 

In visiting Cuba, Francis is following his predecessors, both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI who offered Mass in Revolution Square in 1998 and 2012, respectively. Francis spoke beneath massive portraits of Argentine-born revolutionary leaders Ernesto Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos, delivering his homily in Spanish, Cuba’s common language, and moving the heart of the immense crowd.

The pontiff criticized those who feign to serve others but abuse power to “climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry certain benefits.” Washington Post said his statement could likely to be interpreted by many as a rebuke to the bureaucratic culture of Cuban socialism.

Francis ended the Mass with an appeal for Colombia`s government and rebels to put an end to South America`s longest-running armed conflict. But the formal meeting with dissidents failed to go through. Reuters said between 30-40 government opponents have been detained and prevented from attending papal events. 

After the Mass, Pope met with Fidel Castro at the former Cuban leader’s residence for about 40 minutes. Francis gave Castro several of his official papal writings as well as two books on spirituality. In return, Castro gave Francis an interview book entitled "Fidel and Religion" written by Brazilian priest Frei Betto. 

Later, Francis arrived at Havana’s Great Cathedral, delivering a sermon to nuns, priests, bishops and seminarians that urged them to embrace “poverty and mercy.”  The pope said clergy should get do away with obsession on money, urging care for the neediest and the most vulnerable.

He then proceeded outside to address a large crowd of young Cubans. Going off script, Francis told them to “dream,” encouraging them to embrace others who think differently.

On a separate note, results of a joint poll by the New York Times and CBS News released Sunday showed 89 percent of Catholic in the U.S. supported the pope’s reform of Catholic church. More than half (53 percent) said they strongly approve of the direction Pope Francis is leading the church, while 26 percent said they support to some degree.

 Wrapping up his four-day visit to Cuba, Francis will arrive in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, and will meet President Barack Obama on Wednesday. On Thursday, Pope Francis is due to become the first pontiff in history to make an address before the U.S. Congress.