POPE TARGETS CUBA'S YOUTHS.

Byline: Victor L. Simpson Associated Press 

Stressing the island's Christian roots, Pope John Paul II sought Friday to rally Cubans to Jesus Christ and to build a ``more just, more free society'' in a land of aging revolution.

In a homily to young people at a Mass in Camaguey in central Cuba and a speech to intellectuals at the University of Havana, the pope held up noted Cuban Christian figures as examples to emulate, hailing their defense of human dignity and support of democracy.

The messages touched the key goal of the pope's historic visit to this communist-ruled island - boosting a weak church so it can play a major role in Cuban society.

The pope called the Rev. Felix Varela, a 19th century nationalist priest, ``the veritable father of Cuban culture.''

``He was the first to speak of independence in these lands. He also spoke of democracy, judging it to be the political project best in keeping with human nature,'' the pope said.

John Paul sprinkled his speech with references to democracy and freedom, making clear they are fully in keeping with the Christian message.

``Christ is the way which leads man to the fullness of life, the way which leads to a society which is more just, more free, more human, more caring,'' he told his university audience, which included President Fidel Castro.

In another example of newfound freedoms engendered by the pope's visit, jubilant nuns and seminarians, clutching balloons and a large Cuban flag, danced with hundreds of students outside the university hall.

High fives

Wearing broad smiles, the seminarians gave each other high-fives, and the nuns hugged and kissed joyous students. ``Lift your hands!'' a nun shouted, arms extended skyward. ``Because the pope is here!''

As Cuban police officers looked on, several dozen of the participants marched away after the pope's speech chanting slogans of praise for the pontiff. The demonstration was an extremely rare sight in Cuba, where until recently the faithful have had to endure restrictions on their religious expression.

Just prior to the pope's arrival, however, President Fidel Castro had encouraged all Cubans to welcome the pope and to attend all his activities.

University rector Juan Vela Valdes told the pontiff in a welcoming speech that the Cuban revolution had fostered ``a body of ideas whose aim is full and genuine freedom and equality for the individual and society.''

``The revolution made real the dream of social justice,'' the rector said.

The third day of the unprecedented five-day papal pilgrimage to this Caribbean island began with an open-air Mass attended by tens of thousands in Camaguey.

Pope's health shaky

Since his arrival in Cuba, the 77-year-old leader of the Roman Catholic Church has looked weak. He limps, his hand trembles and at times during his stay here, his eyelid has drooped. But the reception in Camaguey seemed to revitalize the traveler from Rome.

At the Mass in Agramonte Plaza, a buoyant chorus of 500 sang and swayed to a brassy salsa beat as the bulletproof popemobile headed toward the square through the city of colonial buildings and hidden gardens.

About 50,000 people filled the plaza, many bused in from distant communities. Nuns in long white habits shaded their heads with paper Vatican or Cuban flags.

During pauses in his homily, the crowd chanted and cheered - at one point ``Viva el Papa

'' from a group of Mexicans.

``Are they Cubans who appear to be Mexicans?'' the pontiff quipped back in Spanish. ``Or Mexicans who appear to be Cubans?''

The crowd roared.

Later they chanted, ``We see it! We feel it! The pope is here with us!'' and the smiling pope replied, in the tropical heat that reached the 80s, ``I see it, I feel it, the sun is here with us.''

Not everyone in the congregation was so enthusiastic.

Rows of local communist officials sat expressionless and unresponsive throughout. But many ordinary Cubans also appeared subdued.

``They are receiving this with serenity,'' said one visiting observer, Spanish Bishop Jose Sanchez. ``They don't want to be boisterous because they are not sure this is going to last.''

He was referring to the greater tolerance for religious expression being shown by Castro's government. It is this openness that the pope is trying to build on, especially with his appeal for greater ``space'' for Catholic education.

Scolding communists

In a sermon Thursday, the pope scolded the communists for having denied parents the right to choose a Catholic education for their children.

He returned to the theme in Friday's Camaguey homily on ``youth,'' declaring that Catholic education would aid in the ``sowing of virtue and spirituality for the good of the church and of the nation.''

Cuba's pre-revolutionary Catholic schools were primarily havens for a white elite in this mostly mulatto and black nation. Currently, the government allows only catechism classes on church grounds.

As usual on his foreign trips, the pontiff, in both his sermon and an associated written message, appealed to youths to avoid the emptiness and evils of modern life: ``alcohol, the abuse of sex, drug use, prostitution.''

But he also honed his message to the reality of ``this bright island,'' where material shortages and the hostility of a giant neighbor, the United States, have made life hard and deflated the hopes of many young Cubans.

John Paul repeated his criticism of trade embargoes, like America's against Cuba, calling them ``deplorable because they hurt the most needy.''

Yet the answer to the deepest problems doesn't lie in politics, the pope said, but in returning to Cuba's ``Christian roots.''

``Do all that you can to build a future of ever greater dignity and freedom,'' he declared. From within the church, he said, young people can contribute to ``a society which is . . . new: the Cuba of reconciliation and love.''

People across this beautiful but poor island were watching the pope's progress on national television, looking for hints that he might help change things for the better in Cuba.

``The immense majority - immense - support Fidel,'' retired sugar mill worker Felicito Gonzalez, 74, assured a reporter in Havana. ``But there are many, many problems here. Perhaps this great world personality can help us.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Pope John Paul II is greeted by members of the Santa Rita Parish choir of Havana outside the papal nuncio's residence Friday.

Associated Press

(2 -- color) Tens of thousands of Cubans gather at the Plaza Ignacio Agramonte on Friday in Camaguey, Cuba, for a Mass by Pope John Paul II.

Associated Press

(3 -- color) Pope John Paul II walks with Cuban President Fidel Castro at the University of Harvard on Friday night.

Associated Press