Beneath looming images of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the Virgin Mary, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday stood in Revolution Square here, the heart of the Castro government, and issued a ringing call for \u201cauthentic freedom\u201d\u009d in what is consistently ranked as one of the most repressive nations on earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is a desire of the human person, the search for which always supposes the exercise of authentic freedom,\u201d\u009d Benedict said in his homily at an outdoor Mass here, a line greeted by smiles from some in the crowd. \u201cMany, however, prefer shortcuts, trying to avoid this task.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The Mass was the culmination of a three-day visit to Cuba meant to shore up support for the Roman Catholic Church here. With President Ra\u00c3\u00bal Castro sitting in the front row \u201d\u201d and a day after a top Cuban official said that Cuba would not pursue political change any time soon \u201d\u201d Benedict also decried \u201cthose who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading them to irrationality and fanaticism; they close themselves up in \u201d\u02dctheir truth,\u2019 and try to impose it on others.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n