[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7774-H7777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMENDING VISIT OF POPE JOHN PAUL II TO CUBA

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 362) commending the visit of His Holiness Pope John 
Paul II to Cuba, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 362

       Whereas Pope John Paul II earlier this year undertook a 
     first ever Papal visit to Cuba to speak directly to the Cuban 
     people;
       Whereas the Pope led the Cuban people in celebration 
     throughout the island, including leading the largest open-air 
     mass since 1959 on the last day of his visit in Jose Marti 
     Plaza;
       Whereas the Pope spoke directly with the Cuban people and 
     the Cuban Government about the importance of fundamental 
     human rights and the necessity for ``each person enjoying 
     freedom of expression, being free to undertake initiatives 
     and make proposals within civil society, and enjoying 
     appropriate freedom of association'';
       Whereas the Pope called for political freedom in Cuba, 
     including a call to release ``those who are isolated, 
     persecuted, imprisoned for various offenses or for reasons of 
     conscience, for ideas which though dissident are nonetheless 
     peaceful'';
       Whereas the Pope called for greater religious freedom in 
     Cuba and a ``harmonious social climate and a suitable 
     legislation that enables every person and every religious 
     confession to live their faith freely, to express that faith 
     in the context of public life and to count on adequate 
     resources and opportunities to bring its spiritual, moral and 
     civil benefits to bear on the life of the nation'';
       Whereas Cuban churches of all faiths supported the Papal 
     visit and emerged from the visit with expectations of greater 
     prominence and freedom to operate in Cuban society;
       Whereas the Pope invoked the name of Father Felix Varela y 
     Morales, ``an undeniable patriot'', who ``spoke of democracy, 
     judging it to be the political project best in keeping with 
     human nature'', and the name of Jose Marti, ``a writer and a 
     teacher in the fullest sense of the word, deeply committed to 
     democracy and independence, a patriot, a loyal friend even to 
     those who did not share his political program'';
       Whereas the Pope remembered ``those people who for various 
     reasons have left the country but still feel that they are 
     sons and daughters of Cuba'' and established that ``the Cuban 
     people should be the protagonists of their own future and 
     destiny'';
       Whereas the Pope both called for greater integration of the 
     people of Cuba into the international community and 
     criticized the Castro Government by saying ``imposed 
     isolation strikes the people indiscriminately, making it ever 
     more difficult for the weakest to enjoy the bare essentials 
     of decent living''; and
       Whereas the Pope challenged Cuba and the international 
     community of nations by saying ``May Cuba with all its 
     magnificent potential, open itself up to the world, and may 
     the world open itself up to Cuba'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) commends Pope John Paul II for his visit to Cuba, for 
     his frank criticism of the Cuban Government, and his message 
     of hope to the Cuban people; and
       (2) urges the international community to join the United 
     States in actively supporting the freedom and democratic 
     reforms for Cuba embodied in the Pope's homilies which have 
     peacefully united Cubans in the common cause of liberty.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hamilton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, the most telling moment of the visit by His 
Holiness Pope John Paul II to Cuba occurred at the beginning of his 
public mass at Havana. The Pope successively greeted Cuban Cardinal 
Jaime Ortega, the Church hierarchy, and the priests and assembled 
faithful to repeated applause from the crowd that filled Jose Marti 
Plaza.
  The Pope then respectfully greeted Fidel Castro. Apart from the tiny 
sound of polite applause drifting from the stage over the loudspeakers, 
the sprawling crowd of ordinary Cubans stood in spontaneous, purposeful 
silence. No one applauded.
  While ordinary Cubans were clearly touched by the Pope's message, the 
Castro regime remains unmoved. Sadly, the Catholic church and other 
Cuban religious leaders and laity consider to face intransigence and 
repression. The Cuban regime's State Security apparatus is now 
arresting more dissidents than were released after the Pope's visit.
  In the meantime since the Pope's visit, church officials have 
publicly criticized the Cuban government for doing little since the 
Pope's visit to resolve issues that the Catholic church considers 
essential. Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that:

       The government of President Fidel Castro, which won praise 
     for receiving the Pope has shown little new flexibility since 
     then in response to church requests for greater freedom. 
     Efforts to ease the admittance of foreign priests and nuns 
     have made no apparent progress. Nor have pleas that the 
     government scale back controls on Catholic social service 
     agencies that could deliver badly needed food and medical aid 
     from abroad.
       Permits for religious processions have been denied as often 
     as they have been granted, church officials said, and hopes 
     that the Pope's visit might open space for religious groups 
     in the state-controlled news media have mostly been dashed.
       Approval of long-standing requests--to allow the opening of 
     Catholic schools or importation of an offset press to print 
     newsletters and magazines--seems as distant as it did in 
     years past.

  While Fidel Castro has refused to let up on the Catholic church in 
Cuba, here in our own Nation he continues to directly and brazenly 
attack American interests. The FBI announced in Miami just yesterday 
that 10 people have been charged with spying for the Cuban government. 
These Castroite agents were trying to penetrate our Miami-based U.S. 
Southern Command, MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, and the Boca Chica 
Naval Air Station in Key West. This morning, the Washington Post 
reported in a front page story that U.S. Attorney Thomas Scott 
``described the activities of the eight men and two women as an attempt 
`to strike at the very heart of our national security system.' '' .
  The FBI has said that Castro's spies also sought to infiltrate Cuban-
American groups and manipulate other political groups and the United 
States media. I would like to commend FBI director Louis Freeh and the 
FBI's Miami field office for neutralizing this illegal espionage 
network.
  Great leaders from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan have 
known that good will does not move dictators. I regret that the Clinton 
administration chose to make a number of unconditional, unilateral 
concessions to the Cuban government in the wake of the recent visit by 
the Pope. The United States should instead be leading efforts to help 
the church and Cuba's internal opposition to lay the basis for a 
peaceful and democratic transition.
  I would like to note that our ranking member the gentleman from 
Indiana

[[Page H7775]]

(Mr. Hamilton) was an initial cosponsor of this resolution and offered 
a compromise amendment which was approved in our committee. 
Accordingly, I invite my colleagues to join us in adopting this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
I rise in support of the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleagues the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly) and 
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for their willingness 
to work out an accurate and, I think, helpful compromise that we bring 
to the floor today. I appreciate that this was not an easy process, 
that there were some difficult decisions made, and I want to thank them 
for their cooperation and keeping an open mind throughout the process.
  I think we bring a good resolution to the floor. It is a 
straightforward resolution that commends the Pope for his visit. I 
think you can be for his position on U.S. policy or against it; you can 
agree with a part of his position and disagree with other parts of it, 
but it does seem to me we all ought to commend his visit and his 
message to the Cuban people.
  The compromise resolution we have before us reflects the importance 
of the Pope's visit in a number of ways.
  First, it commends Pope John Paul II for his visit to Cuba, for his 
frank criticism of the Cuban government and, his message of hope to the 
Cuban people.
  Secondly, it urges the international community to join the United 
States in supporting freedom and democratic reforms for Cuba embodied 
in the Pope's homilies.
  Third, the resolution recognizes the Pope's frank criticism of the 
Cuban government. The Cuban government is isolating its own people, 
gravely limiting Cubans' freedoms and basic human rights. This 
isolation is unnecessary and is counterproductive and it stands in 
stark contrast to trends throughout the hemisphere.
  Fourth and finally, the resolution makes clear that the Pope is 
critical of U.S. policy toward Cuba, and he has challenged us to 
consider the costs of that policy. U.S. policy isolates the Cuban 
people who are made to bear the brunt of our opposition to the Castro 
regime. That isolation is counterproductive to our shared goal of 
bringing freedom to the Cuban people.
  The Pope was right to do what he did and to say what he said, and we, 
I think, are right to commend him. He spoke directly to the Cuban 
people, engaged them, as he did the people of eastern Europe. He is not 
trying to isolate them or coerce them. On his return, he said that the 
purpose of this trip was to promote the same changes in Cuba as took 
place after his trip to his native Poland.
  I believe that the Cuban people are more hopeful for change in the 
aftermath of the Pope's visit, and less fearful in seeking that change. 
We cannot say that nothing has changed in Cuba since the Papal visit, 
because it is clear that the Cuban people and their expectations have 
changed. One only had to see scores of Cubans marching through Havana 
with their Patron Saint last week, for the first time in more than 30 
years, to understand what is changing for Cubans.
  What has not changed, unfortunately, is the Castro government. Their 
actions of the last week confirm what we have known for more than three 
decades.
  We were all informed just the other day that the FBI arrested 10 
persons on Saturday in Miami, saying that they are part of an espionage 
ring that was sent by the Cuban government to strike at the very heart 
of our national security system and our very democratic process.
  I join in the criticism that has been made and certainly will be made 
of the Castro government which isolates the Cuban people and, of 
course, has a terrible human rights record. The capricious exercise of 
power last week, to arrest 13 dissidents and detain them without 
charge, is exactly what the Pope rightly criticized when he was in 
Cuba.
  But this resolution is about the Papal visit. It is not about the 
behavior of a government that stands in stark contrast to every other 
government in the region. The Pope's visit had an impact on the people 
of Cuba that continues, I think, to return dividends, continues to 
grant hope and breathes life into Cuba's civil society.
  The Pope's trip was a remarkable trip and I think admirable. We 
should not only commend him for it but we should be wise to follow his 
example.
  I urge support of the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Gallegly) the distinguished chairman of our 
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
  Mr. Speaker, eight months ago, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II 
undertook a historic pilgrimage to Cuba. His primary mission was to 
reassure the faithful of that island nation that the open profession of 
their faith and active practice of their religious beliefs was an 
important right that they as Catholics should not be afraid to 
exercise. While in Cuba the Pope not only took a number of 
opportunities to highlight the important role of the church in Cuban 
society but on several occasions he took the opportunity to point out 
the failures of the Cuban regime to prevent the free exercise of views 
and to permit the faithful to practice their religion.
  The issue of Cuba is never an easy one around here, Mr. Speaker, but 
as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I introduced 
this resolution because I did not feel such an historic event and the 
potential consequences of such a visit should go unrecognized.
  The bill before us today is a compromise effort which received 
unanimous support in our subcommittee. For that I want to again thank 
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) for their cooperation. I also want to commend 
the ranking member of the full Committee on International Relations my 
good friend the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hamilton) for his work on 
this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation recognizes the Pope's visit as an 
important milestone in the lives of the Cuban people because the visit 
did set into motion a change in the relationship between the government 
of Cuba and the Catholic church. Beyond that, the visit has provided a 
new measure of hope for the people of Cuba that the church, in due 
time, could become an important conduit to increased economic, social 
and political freedom on the island.
  Let there be no mistake, however, that while the Pope's visit has 
provided a new measure of freedom for the church, it has not 
significantly changed the attitude of the regime toward freedom of 
expression and assembly for the general population. While it is true 
that since the Pope's visit, many political prisoners have been 
released from jail, unfortunately many of those have had to leave Cuba 
and many others have been taken and placed in prison in their place. 
Obviously the Cuban regime did not get the message. For this I want to 
express my strong disappointment in the regime.
  Despite the continued repressive attitudes of the regime, I urge my 
colleagues to pass this resolution to give the Pope the recognition he 
deserves for his visit to Cuba and to send a message to the Cuban 
regime that the Pope's message about truth, freedom and religious 
expression must be honored.
  I urge my colleagues to adopt this bill.

                              {time}  1800

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank so much the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) for his steadfast dedication, for many years of 
leadership on the cause of freedom and democracy to the people of my 
native homeland of Cuba, and those are qualities and a direction which 
is shared by his ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Hamilton). We thank him for his patience throughout this process, for 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly), for his leadership, as 
well for the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and the

[[Page H7776]]

gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) who also had a significant 
hand in the drafting of this resolution.
  As all of us know, Mr. Speaker, in January of this year, the Pope 
went on a religious pilgrimage to Cuba to bring hope to a people 
oppressed, enslaved and tortured by a ruthless dictator, Fidel Castro, 
and his gang of thugs. It was unprecedented, and it should be 
recognized as such, but we should be cautious that an acknowledgment of 
the Pope is not manipulated into praise for a brutal regime. There were 
great expectations that the visit of His Holiness would somehow bring a 
sense of humanity to the evil that is Fidel Castro. Unfortunately, of 
course, it has not.
  In the aftermath of this visit, many have tried to distort the Pope's 
message and the facts in an attempt to seek a weakening of the U.S. 
position against the Castro regime. These attempts are premised on the 
contention that the Pope's visit has resulted in significant changes by 
the Castro regime and has created an opening for the people of Cuba.
  But make no mistake. Up to now, nothing has really changed in Cuba. 
While those who seek a normalization of relations with the ruthless 
Cuban dictator ignore this reality, the Congress cannot and must not 
ignore the truth. The actions taken by the Castro regime since the 
papal visit clearly show that a leopard does not change his spots and a 
tiger its stripes.
  This is the case of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet and Rolando Illore, 
directors of the Lawton Foundation of Human Rights in Cuba who were 
arrested on July 11, 1998, for planning a commemoration of the fourth 
anniversary of the sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboats. The whereabouts 
of these two individuals are still unknown, Mr. Speaker.
  Or the case of the members of the Liga Civica Martiana who on March 
30, 1998, were arrested by the Cuban revolutionary police during a 
meeting that was planned to honor the remembrance of the combatants of 
the Brigade 2506. One of the members, Wilfredo Martinez Perez, was 
beaten to death and murdered at the police headquarters in Havana.
  Or the case of the members of the Partido Pro Derechos Humanos who on 
February 24, 1998, were in prison for honoring the memory of martyrs of 
the Brothers to the Rescue. One of them, Jose Antonio Alvarado Almeida, 
was sent to a local psychiatric hospital as punishment.
  I ask you to listen to the Cuban people, those like Oswaldo Paya 
Sardinas, the national coordinator of the Liberation Christian Movement 
of Cuba who has stated:

       The Cuban government has made clear that certain spaces or 
     gestures or other allowances to the church or concessions 
     only on the occasion of the Pope's visit.

  Or listen to the words of Ramon Humberto Colas, a Catholic political 
dissident from Las Tunas. Ramon Humberto Colas asserted: ``There were 5 
days of freedom, but there were just 5 days amid 40 years.''
  I ask my colleagues to listen to the words of Aurora Garcia Del 
Busto, an independent journalist in Cuba, when she says: ``Cuba does 
not open up to the Cuban people.''
  We have had an opportunity to send a clear message to the Cuban 
dictator that we can see beyond the facade created by opponents of 
U.S.-Cuba policy. Honor the Pope for his efforts at bringing hope and 
faith to the Cuban people, but do not allow this Chamber to be used as 
a platform for Castro's public relations maneuvers.
  Despite the Pope's visit, the reality is that the Castro regime has 
not changed, nor does it ever want to change. Once an oppressive 
dictatorship, sadly, Mr. Speaker, always an oppressive dictatorship.
  Mr. HAMILTON. I have no more speakers, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart) who is one of the sponsors of this 
resolution.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hamilton), the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Gallegly), the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen), and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) who have 
been so helpful with this resolution.
  I do support this resolution. I have had in the past, differences 
with my friend, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hamilton) on Cuba 
policy, and yet it is evident and it has always been evident that Lee 
Hamilton does not in any way condone or accept nor whitewash, nor much 
less support, any of the brutality that Castro has been responsible for 
and continues to be responsible for and has been for 40 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that this is an important resolution because 
basically what it does is that it restates the overwhelming support 
that the United States people, the American people and its 
representatives and the representatives in Congress have for the right 
of the Cuban people to be free.
  Without any doubt, those were extraordinarily hopeful days in January 
where the Cubans felt, since the eyes of the world were upon Cuba and 
that extraordinary figure of this century was present, that they could 
not be as easily brutalized during those days. Even so, even during 
those days, we saw the examples of the very brave demonstrators during 
the Pope's Masses who were dragged off, some even pulled by their hair, 
young ladies, and in other demonstrations of violence, manifestations 
of violence by that gangster regime. Even during the Pope's Masses, 
those things happened.
  So the essence of the regime has not changed. I think when we realize 
that perhaps the most distinguished, certainly the most well known 
Catholic leader in Cuba today, Catholic political leader in Cuba today, 
Oswaldo Paya was not even allowed to meet with the Pope, that political 
prisoners were picked up, were made prisoners, men and women were made 
political prisoners even during the days of the visit and that the 
hundreds, and I have a list of 1,500 approximately, political prisoners 
in my office, that they still languish, they still languish in Cuban 
prisons, from the most well known to some who have never received 
publicity. They all deserve and receive our support. We think of them.
  And our policy, Mr. Speaker, is well set and is clear, and it is in 
law. We will maintain our policy of not trading or permitting trade 
with the Cuban regime as long as all political prisoners are not free, 
all political parties are not legalized, and free elections are not 
condoned. That is our policy, it is codified, and we, the American 
people, will continue to stand with the Cuban people.
  I appreciate the opportunity for this intervention and for this 
resolution to have been filed.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind remarks 
in support of the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez), a member of our committee.
  (Mr. MENENDEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Gilman) for yielding this time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in temperate support of H. Resolution 392, and I 
am happy that we were able to come to agreement with the distinguished 
ranking Democrat, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hamilton) on the 
language. However, I think that the events of the past week are 
evidence of how very little has changed in Cuba since the Pope's 
January visit. Following a religious procession through Havana, the 
government launched its most repressive crackdown on political 
dissidents this year. Thirteen individuals were detained and held by 
the regime for political activities related to the religious procession 
and the sentencing by the regime of political prisoner Reynaldo Alfaro.
  The resolution accurately reflects the sentiments of Pope John Paul 
II's visit to Cuba and commends him for a visit that took far too many 
years to come to fruition. But most importantly, the resolution 
recognizes the historic significance of the Pope's visit, something 
each of us can agree with.
  Now, while his visit was successful in opening a window of 
opportunity for the Catholic Church, as we stand here today that window 
is slowly closing. The absence of world attention on Cuba since his 
visit is largely responsible for allowing the window to close. Even the

[[Page H7777]]

Pope has expressed concern and frustration that the initial opening for 
the Church provided by his visit is quickly receding.
  Since January, the Cuban Government has continued to block Church 
access to mass media, limited public Masses and denied permits for 
Masses, expelled American priest, Reverend Patrick Sullivan, and forced 
others to flee under harassment, continued to deny autonomy to Caritas, 
the Church's humanitarian relief agency, restricted visas for clergy to 
enter and preach in Cuba, and has severely limited the ability of Cuban 
Protestants to worship in Cuba.
  On January 31 of this year, Ricardo Alarcon, President of Cuba's 
National Assembly, announced that the regime will, quote, not permit 
the reopening of Catholic and parochial schools.
  It is evident to me that Castro is seeking to undo the progress made 
by the Pope during his visit and return Cuba to the status quo it has 
lived under for almost 4 decades.
  As a recent article in the New York Times pointed out:
       Efforts to ease the admittance of foreign priests and nuns 
     have made no apparent progress, nor have pleas that the 
     government scale back controls on Catholic social service 
     agencies that could deliver badly needed food and medical aid 
     from abroad. Permits for religious processions have been 
     denied as often as they have been granted, church officials 
     said, and hopes that the Pope's visit might open up space for 
     religious groups and the State-controlled news media have 
     been mostly dashed.
  Without continued calls for democratic change by the international 
community and the media spotlight on these issues, the opportunity for 
further change will be lost.
  I think it is appropriate that we commemorate Pope John Paul's visit 
to Cuba and celebrate the religious opening in Cuba created as a result 
of his visit. But, most importantly, it is essential that the church 
and the international community build on his visit by refusing to allow 
the Cuban regime the opportunity to close that window that was open. I 
hope that we will not let this historic opportunity, the visit of Pope 
John Paul II, disappear for lack of attention. The people of Cuba 
deserve this long-awaited opportunity, and we can take advantage of 
that opportunity. But right now, people in Cuba are still suffering the 
very realities they were suffering before the papal visit, and while he 
inspired hope and opportunity, Fidel Castro is quickly closing and 
snuffing out that hope.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time has expired.
  The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Gilman) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution, H.Res. 362, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________