By Dalia Acosta
HAVANA, Jan 24 1998 (IPS)

An underground intellectual Catholic movement could be forming in Cuba following decades of religious intolerance and the reigning official atheism.

Although most of the potential members of the movement prefer to avoid the issue, the idea of its existence is catching on in the more liberal atmosphere surrounding the visit of Pope John Paul II to the island.

“There has never been anyhing like this in Cuba,” intellectual and journalist Juan Emilio Friguls told IPS. Friguls kept his post in the State communication media after the revolution without having to renouce his lay Catholicism.

‘Palabra Nueva’ (new word), ‘Vitral’ (stained glass window), ‘Presencia’ (presence), ‘Amanecer’ (dawn), ‘Fides’ (faithful), ‘Imago,’ are only some of the parish publications which have been tolerated by the government in recent years.

Produced in a virtually hand-made fashion, reproduced on photocopiers, with a limited print run and no access to the newsstands, these publications are much sought after for their articles on opinion, economy, science, society and religion.

The emergence of a Catholic cultural movement would follow the path opened by the Catholic press association founded last year, creating a hole in the fence for other independent civil society organisations to come in.

Aurelio Alonso, researcher in the religion department of the Centre of Psychological and Sociological Studies, said “a Catholic intelligentsia is beginning to form building arguments with which to defend their stances.”

Alonso believes the current nature of the Catholic Church on the island is linked to this new phenomenon in the sphere of thinking, which brings with it positions which rebel against the official government line.

He said some representatives of this Catholic intelligentsia would be present in the Pope’s meeting the with Cuba’s ‘world of culture’ Friday.

The link between artistic and political movements dates back to last century, reaching a leading moment in the battle against the Gerardo Machado dictatorship in the thirties.

National hero, Jose Marti, who died on the battle field fighting the Spanish colonisers, left 27 volumes behind him, including a vast collection of poems, essays and even children’s stories.

But according to Friguls, the majority of Cuban Catholic intellectuals kept their work and their faith separate, because, amongst other reasons, “the Church of the time did not have to defend itself.”

Cuban cardinal, Jaime Ortega, said Monday the Catholic Church and the State could be about to enter a new stage of dialogue as a result of the meeting between the ecclesiastical hierarchy and President Fidel Castro in December.

The Catholic hierarchy is calling for more space in the mass communication media, an increase in its capacity for institutional action and the right to comment on the national sitation.

“I don’t think there is a Catholic intellectual movement, rather, tat the Church is active in the culture field,” said poet and essayist Roberto Mendez, one of the guests invited to Friday’s meeting with the Pope.

With seven books to his name, including two essays linked to religious themes, Mendez believes the creation of an artistic movement, of whatever kind, demands “unity of thought, coherence and organisation.”

He said he would not define himself as a Catholic intellectual as this would be a “limiting” category, squashing two extremely broad concepts into only one definition.

Mendez is member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, a national non governmental group with a membership including most of the known artists on the islans, and which maintains links with the state.

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