-DATE-
19890206
-YEAR-
1989
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
APPEARANCE
-AUTHOR-
F.CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
INAUGURAL OF CARLOS ANDRES PEREZ
-PLACE-
VANEZUELA
-SOURCE-
MADRID EFE IN SPANISH
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19890206
-TEXT-
Government-Church Ties Viewed

PA0602043489 Madrid EFE in Spanish 0417 GMT 6 Feb 89

[Text] Caracas, 5 Feb (EFE)--Cuban President Fidel Castro said today in
Caracas that there are paths open to cooperation among the government, PCC,
and Catholic Church, but admitted mutual apprehension still lingers.

Castro, who traveled to Venezuela to attend Carlos Andres Perez' inaugural,
talked about his government's relations with the Church during a meeting
with about 200 representatives of diverse religious persuasions.

The Cuban president recalled that in the public health area there is
significant cooperation with religious institutions through the work of a
large number of nuns who deal with new diseases.

Castro pointed out that Cuban society faces serious family problems,
including a high rate of divorces and abortions, that call for ethical
education, a task in which the Church could play an important role.

The Cuban leader said that according to studies, the increase in juvenile
delinquency, teenage pregnancy, and failed marriages stems mostly from a
lack of solid family background.

In this regard, Castro admitted the ethical presence of religion could be
channelled toward those problems to stop or reduce the number of family
deviations and negative social consequences they bring about.

Regarding the incorporation of religion in educational programs, the Cuban
president pointed out that he sees no unsurmountable obstacles preventing
the study of certain religious subjects in schools in the not-too-distant
future.

He also said limited opportunities currently available to Catholics to
participate in Cuban politics will be expanded; in fact, even the
possibility of the PCC eliminating restrictions on Catholics' incorporation
is under study.

Castro said this stand toward the Catholic Church is not new because the
Cuban Revolution, as opposed to previous ones, has never been
antireligious, although it had clashed against a small hierarchical nucleus
in the beginning.

He recalled that prerevolution Cuban society was already very impermeable
to religion, which found its main supporters among the middle and upper
classes.

Castro also pointed out the need to break away once and for all from the
fad of associating revolution with atheism, because revolutions such as
Cuba's are not necessarily atheistic.
-END-