Cuba to free prisoners ahead of Pope’s visit

Jose Daniel Ferrer, another leading dissident, said he was not expecting any sea changes, but is “hopeful that the pope will demand more democracy and respect for human rights from the government, even if he does it in private”.

They’re warming up for the performance of their lives…mass with Pope Francis. “A big part of why he’s coming is so that there’s new momentum in that relationship”.

The breakthrough was no surprise to Ortega, who served as the church’s point man to ensure the negotiations would not die the quiet death of so many past attempts.

Fluent in Spanish, O’Malley has traveled to Cuba several times.

“The Pope brought Cuba up”, Ortega said.

What Cuba really wants is economic growth.

“Often, these types of problems are dealt with in conversations, not so much with public proclamations but in personal, direct or private discussions”, Lombardi said. “This encouraged the Pope”.

“His involvement injected an element of credibility and authority that was important to help the president, knowing that he would be criticized by some.” said Tim Rieser, a foreign policy aide to U.S. Sen.

But the negotiations were stuck on the issue of how to free the prisoners each country had.

Dion, who has lived in Naples for 26 years, also supports the role the pope took in the negotiations between Cuba and the U.S.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty global . Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who has been a key player in the push to improve relations between the US and Cuba.

As the Obama presidency winds down, with nothing to lose, he could do the right thing by releasing an equal percentage of the prison population as the Cubans did.

A sign with an image of Pope Francis hangs on the side of the Sagrado Corazon church in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, September 16, 2015. “It’s essential that the pope delivers a message to the government of Cuba”.

But soon another letter would reach Ortega that would also have an impact on the talks.

“He’s not going to hit Congress over the head about the embargo”, one of the officials said. Now, he would like to rent it back from the government to set up a ranch and a five-star hotel. His family, he said, lost a 15,000-acre ranch, La Candelaria, near Bayamo, after Fidel Castro came to power.

“In Cuba, it’s not easy to get those over-the-counter medicines”, he said.

The Holy Father continued saying that the Lord loves you from the heart.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a videomessage to the people of Cuba on the eve of his Apostolic visit to the country. She plans to join the “100 Women, 100 Miles” march to Washington to encourage Francis to speak out on immigration reform.

FILE – In this January 25, 1998 file photo, Pope John Paul II arrives…

After decades of conflicts with Cuba’s communist-run government, the Roman Catholic Church has quietly established itself as practically the only independent institution with any widespread influence on the island.