Pope calls for end to U.S. economic embargo against Cuba

Published: 2005-01-10

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II called for an end to the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba so that adequate conditions for the Caribbean island's development could be met. The pope made his comments Jan. 8 in an address to Cuba's new ambassador to the Holy See, Raul Roa Kouri, as the diplomat presented the pope with his letters of credential. "The Holy See strongly desires that obstacles that hinder free communication and exchange between the Cuban nation and part of the international community be overcome as soon as possible," the pope said. Ending the blockade would reinforce, "through respectful and open dialogue with everyone, the conditions necessary for real development," said the pope. The United States has maintained a trade and travel embargo against Cuba since 1961 in an effort to topple the communist government led by President Fidel Castro.

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