Pope Celebrates Mass In Havana, Warns Against Dangers Of Ideology

"Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people," the pope said in his homily.

HAVANA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Havana's Revolution Square on Sunday, offering both spiritual and political messages for the tens of thousands who packed the plaza, the symbolic heart of the Cuban revolution.

He warned of the dangers of power and ideology when others are excluded. At the same time, Cuban police kept some dissidents from attending and pounced on others apparently attempting to hand out flyers near the Mass.

The huge plaza is the site of government and Communist Party headquarters and where Cubans celebrate May Day beneath massive portraits of revolutionary leaders Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos built into the facades of state buildings.

To welcome the pope, who helped bring about the recent rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, a similarly giant poster of Jesus Christ was hung nearby.

Some pilgrims waited for hours in the tropical heat, eager to hear the first Latin American pope speak to them in Spanish, their common language.

"Francis has come to bless this new union between Cuba and the United States," said Enrique Mesa, a 32-year-old tourism worker.

While Cuba's government basks in the glow of the pope's four-day visit, he may use the stage to criticize the Communist leaders on democracy and human rights.

"Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people," the pope said in his homily. "Do not neglect them (others) for plans which can be seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of the person beside you."

Between 30-40 dissidents were detained to stop them attending papal events, a dissident human rights group said.

Security agents wrestled two men and a woman to the ground at the edge of Revolution Square, then led them off, after they started shouting and tried to hand out flyers, a Reuters witness said.

The pope's homily carried messages that both committed Communists and the government's most strident critics could claim as their own.

"All of us are called by virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which truly serves, and to help one another not to be tempted by a 'service' which is really 'self-serving,'" the pope said.

The government's opponents may feel the pope was talking about Fidel and Raul Castro, the brothers who have been Cuba's dominant figures since the 1959 revolution while their defenders could point to another passage as praise for a revolution that has provided Cubans with free health care and education.

"Who is the most important? Jesus is straightforward in his reply: 'Whoever wishes to be the first among you must be the last of all, and the servant of all,'" Francis said.

Francisco was expected to visit retired leader Fidel Castro, 89, later on Sunday.

Arriving on Saturday, Francis exhorted Cuba and the United States to deepen their detente, and encouraged Cuba to grant more freedom to the Roman Catholic Church, which has re-emerged as a powerful force after suffering decades of repression.

"His visit is cause for hope in our aspirations for improvement," said biologist Benito Espinoza, 41, at Revolution Square. "We are an optimistic people, but we have suffered for many years."

Francis waved and greeted Cubans as he arrived at the Mass, delighting one family when he picked up and kissed a four-year-old girl Karen Correoso.

"It's a historic moment for her and for us. He blessed her," said the girl's aunt, Maria Teresa Gonzalez, 64, from a church in Matanzas city.

U.S. RAPPROCHEMENT

Many Cubans appreciate the pope for his role in the secret talks that led to last December's breakthrough with Washington, when Cuban President Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to normalize relations and end more than half a century of Cold War-era animosity.

Francis will fly from Cuba to Washington on Tuesday for meetings with Obama and addresses at the U.S. Congress and United Nations.

Cuba will welcome any papal condemnation of the U.S. economic embargo, which persists despite Obama's policy change as only the U.S. Congress can lift it. The Republican leadership in Congress has defied Obama's calls to do so.

But Castro's government will also be sensitive to any criticism of its one-party political system or repression of dissidents.

Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said most of the 30-40 opposition activists rounded up were in Santa Clara and Havana.

Among them were three dissidents whose detention kept them from a meeting with the pope on Saturday night, said Berta Soler, leader of the dissident group Ladies in White.

Instead of seeing Francis at the Vatican's diplomatic residence in Havana, Soler said she, Miriam Leyva and Martha Beatriz Roque were in police custody for several hours.

"The Holy Father is not going to change anything in Cuba," Soler said. "We don't expect much from Francis because he comes here to talk about political matters between Cuba and the United States, not to resolve anything." (Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne, Daniel Trotta, Anahi Rama and Marc Frank; Editing by Ros Russell and Kieran Murray)

Also On The Huffington Post

Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
HAVANA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 19: Cuban kid celebrates Pope Francis arrival in Havana, Cuba on September 19, 2015. (Photo by Carlos Becerra/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
LUIS ACOSTA via Getty Images
A woman holds a photo of Pope Francis during his visit in Havana on September 19, 2015, on the first leg of a high-profile trip that will also take him to the United States. AFP PHOTO / Luis Acosta (Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)
RODRIGO ARANGUA via Getty Images
Pope Francis arrives at Revolution Square in Havana on September 20, 2015. Pope Francis will give mass on Revolution Square, the biggest event of his trip to Cuba, with nearly a million people expected to attend. The pontiff's eight-day tour will also take him to the United States. AFP PHOTO / RODRIGO ARANGUA (Photo credit should read RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 19: People watch as Pope Francis is shown on television as he arrives in Havana, Cuba on September 19, 2015 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Pope Francis arrived in Havana, Cuba today for a three day visit where he meets President Raul Castro and holds Mass in Revolution Square before travelling to Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and onwards to the United States. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE via Getty Images
People wait for the start of the mass to be officiated by Pope Francis at Revolution Square in Havana, on September 20, 2015. Pope Francis greeted massive crowds of fans and Catholic faithful Sunday as he arrived in his popemobile to give mass on Havana's iconic Revolution Square, the highlight of his trip to Cuba. The pontiff's eight-day tour will also take him to the United States. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
RODRIGO ARANGUA via Getty Images
Pope Francis gives mass at Revolution Square in Havana, on September 20, 2015. Pope Francis greeted massive crowds of fans and Catholic faithful Sunday as he arrived in his popemobile to give mass on Havana's iconic Revolution Square, the highlight of his trip to Cuba. The pontiff's eight-day tour will also take him to the United States. AFP PHOTO / RODRIGO ARANGUA (Photo credit should read RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 20: Parishioners attend a church service as Pope Francis conducts a mass in Havana before he is scheduled to arrive in the city on Monday evening on September 20, 2015 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Pope Francis is spending his first full day of a three day trip in Havana, Cuba before travelling to Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and then onwards to the United States. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Carl Court via Getty Images
HAVANA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 20: A boy climbs a tree to listen to a speech by Pope Francis following his visit to the Father Felix Varela cultural center on September 20, 2015 in Havana, Cuba. Pope Francis is on the first full day of his three day visit to Cuba where he will meet President Raul Castro and hold Mass in Revolution Square before travelling to Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and El Cobre then onwards to the United States. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
Carl Court via Getty Images
HAVANA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 20: Pope Francis waves after making a speech to youngsters following a visit to the Father Felix Varela cultural center on September 20, 2015 in Havana, Cuba. Pope Francis is on the first full day of his three day visit to Cuba where he will meet President Raul Castro and hold Mass in Revolution Square before travelling to Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and El Cobre then onwards to the United States. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
LUIS ACOSTA via Getty Images
Pope Francis (L) gives a morning mass at the Calixto Garcia square in Holguin, in eastern Cuba, on September 21, 2015. Holguin, a cradle of Catholic faith on the island and also the home region of communist leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, is the only stop on the pope's eight-day, six-city tour of Cuba and the United States that has never received a papal visit. AFP PHOTO / LUIS ACOSTA (Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
HOLGUIN, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 21: The Patron saint of Cuba the Virgin of Charity is brought into the Plaza de la Revolution before the arrival of Pope Francis who will hold a mass in the square on September 21, 2015 in Holguin, Cuba. Pope Francis is spending his second day of a three day trip in Holguin, Cuba after arriving in Havana, Cuba before heading onto Santiago de Cuba and then onwards to the United States. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Carl Court via Getty Images
HAVANA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 20: Pope Francis waves as he arrives at Havana Cathedral on September 20, 2015 in Havana, Cuba. Pope Francis is on the first full day of his three day visit to Cuba where he will meet President Raul Castro and hold Mass in Revolution Square before travelling to Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and El Cobre then onwards to the United States. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
LUIS ACOSTA via Getty Images
Pope Francis is greeted by the crowd as he arrives to give a morning mass at the Calixto Garcia square in Holguin, in eastern Cuba, on September 21, 2015. Holguin, a cradle of Catholic faith on the island and also the home region of communist leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, is the only stop on the pope's eight-day, six-city tour of Cuba and the United States that has never received a papal visit. AFP PHOTO / LUIS ACOSTA (Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)
LUIS ACOSTA via Getty Images
Pope Francis (C) leaves the altar at the end of an open mass at Calixto Garcia Square in Holguin, eastern Cuba, on September 21, 2015. Holguin, a cradle of Catholic faith on the island and also the home region of communist leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, is the only stop on the pope's eight-day, six-city tour of Cuba and the United States that has never received a papal visit. AFP PHOTO / LUIS ACOSTA (Photo credit should read LUIS ACOSTA/AFP/Getty Images)
Sven Creutzmann/Mambo Photo via Getty Images
HOLGUIN, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 21: Dozens of Cubans stand in front of the Hotel Pernik and use phones, tablets and laptops to get connected to the internet that has been provided for the press to cover the mass by Pope Francis,on September 21, 2015 in Holguin, Cuba. The Pope, who is on a 4 day visit to Cuba, met with Cubas president Raul Castro, Revolution leader Fidel Castro, and will and hold a final mass in Santiago de Cuba, El Cobre, from where he travel onwards to the United States. After John Paul II in 1998, Benedict XVI in 2012, Pope Francisco is the third consecutive Pope to visit Cuba.(Photo by Sven Creutzmann/Mambo photo/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 22: Pope Francis prepares to drive away in his Popemobile after leaving the cathedral where he held a mass and blessed the city on September 22, 2015 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Pope Francis leaves for the United States after spending four days in Cuba. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE via Getty Images
Members of the Cuban Red Cross wait for Pope Francis to arrive at the basilica to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the patron saint of Cuba -- a mixed-race Mary that symbolizes the island's intertwined Spanish and African roots -- in the village of El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba, in eastern Cuba, on September 22, 2015. The pontiff's eight-day tour will also take him to the United States. The pope, who played a key role in brokering the two countries' recent rapprochement, will conclude his trip to Cuba with a mass and a blessing in second city Santiago, then depart for his first-ever visit to the United States. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
RODRIGO ARANGUA via Getty Images
Pope Francis heads to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Santiago de Cuba, in eastern Cuba, to hold an encounter with families and bless the city, on September 22, 2015. The pope concludes his trip to Cuba with a mass and a blessing in the country's second city Santiago, then depart for his first-ever visit to the United States. AFP PHOTO / RODRIGO ARANGUA (Photo credit should read RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 22: Pope Francis holds a blessing of the city at the cathedral on September 22, 2015 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Pope Francis leaves for the United States after spending four days in Cuba. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, CUBA - SEPTEMBER 22: People fill the square as they listen to Pope Francis hold a blessing of the city at the cathedral on September 22, 2015 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Pope Francis leaves for the United States after spending four days in Cuba. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot