On the recordSeptember 15, 1998
Mr. Speaker, eight months ago, His Holiness, Pope John Paul II undertook a historic pilgrimage to Cuba. His primary mission was to reassure the faithful of that island nation that the open profession of their faith and active practice of their religious beliefs was an important right that they as Catholics should not be afraid to exercise. While in Cuba the Pope not only took a number of opportunities to highlight the important role of the church in Cuban society but on several occasions he took the opportunity to point out the failures of the Cuban regime to prevent the free exercise of views and to permit the faithful to practice their religion. The issue of Cuba is never an easy one around here, Mr. Speaker, but as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I introduced this resolution because I did not feel such an historic event and the potential consequences of such a visit should go unrecognized.
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