Cuba Cardinal To Give TV Address About Papal Visit

HAVANA (AP) — The Roman Catholic Church says Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega will give a televised speech about Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit.

Church spokesman Orlando Marquez says Ortega’s speech is to air Tuesday evening on state-run channel Cubavision.

A similar address will be given next week by the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, another planned stop on Benedict’s March 26-28 tour.

The Cuban government controls all TV and radio broadcasting.

The church has had occasional access to the airwaves since Pope John Paul II’s historic visit in 1998, but far less than it would like.

Masses are sometimes televised, as were recent processions marking the 400th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre.