[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14839]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    POPE'S MESSAGE OF CHANGE IN CUBA

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in 1987, I was grateful to 
be present in Columbia, South Carolina, when Pope John Paul II, as the 
Polish-born Pope, promoted liberation from communism in Europe. 
Yesterday, I was grateful to be present with Pope Francis.
  Prior to arriving in the United States, the Pope visited Cuba. An 
Associated Press article, as reprinted in The Post and Courier this 
week, said Pope Francis gave a message that Cubans should ``overcome 
ideological preconceptions and be willing to change.''
  In the communist totalitarian dictatorship of Cuba, only the 
communist ideology is allowed to be changed. Hopefully, change will 
lead to freedom, as proven by Pope John Paul II.
  Change must come to the economy which was stolen from its owners and 
is now held by the Cuban military, which controls over 70 percent of 
all businesses. This corrupt regime impoverishing its citizens has been 
propped up by the Soviet Union and then Chavez of Venezuela. Both have 
now failed, as Russians and Venezuelans see the failure of Big 
Government.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and may the President by his 
actions never forget September the 11th in the global war on terrorism, 
and God bless a liberated Cuba.

                          ____________________