By Frances Kerry
HAVANA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Cuba's Catholic church is waiting to see if the communist government will restore the Christmas holiday this year ahead of the Pope's visit, its leader said on Tuesday.
Christmas ceased to be a holiday in Cuba nearly 30 years ago under the revolution led by Fidel Castro. Pope John Paul II will visit the island in January for the first time.
Cardinal Jaime Ortega told a news conference that the pontiff asked Castro for Christmas to be reinstated as a public holiday when they met a year ago at the Vatican.
He said it would be "very desirable'' for the government to restore Christmas, but added that there was still no official word on the matter.
Christmas was dropped from the Cuban calendar of holidays in 1969 as the island strove for a record sugar harvest.
December 25 is now a normal working day in Cuba, although many Cubans do celebrate Christmas in their own homes. Those who can afford it try to make a special meal and decorate their houses, and church-going Christians attend services.
Two years ago, the church called for greater respect for the celebration of Christmas after authorities banned the public display of Christmas trees and nativity scenes, other than in places frequented by tourists, such as hotels. Ortega said that not knowing whether Christmas would be a holiday again was holding up his own decision on whether to make the one appearance he has been granted on state television in December or in January.
Ortega has been allowed to go on television to explain the significance of the papal visit. But he said the church would like more access to the state-run media to explain the visit, saying there had been little on the papal trip in the media.
Although Catholicism is a broad cultural backdrop in Cuba, the number of practising Catholics among the country's 11 million people is more limited. Many ordinary Cubans know little about the Pope and his work.
Ortega, who Monday night celebrated the last of a series of 13 preparatory masses in the Havana region with an open-air service in the capital's cathedral square, gave a broad outline of the pope's program in Cuba.
He said the pontiff, who will spend each night in Havana, would address the theme of the family at a mass in the central city of Santa Clara on Jan. 22, the day after his arrival. In the afternoon he would meet Castro for 30-45 minutes at the Palace of the Revolution.
On Jan. 23, he would travel to Camaguey and address the issue of youth, returning to visit Havana University in the afternoon.
The following day he would visit the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, addressing the theme of patriotism and crowning Cuba's Roman Catholic patron, the Virgin of Charity of Cobre. He would later meet sick people in a visit to a hospital on the outskirts of Havana.
On his last day, the pontiff would celebrate mass in Havana's Revolution Square and then meet Catholic clergy and lay people at the city's cathedral, before leaving for Rome.
The historic meeting between Castro and the Pope in November last year marked a clear improvement in ties between his communist government and the Catholic church, which have been frequently strained since the 1959 revolution.
Ortega said the forthcoming papal visit had already had an impact in Cuba by prompting "the expresion of faith in so many of our brothers.''
REUTERS
23:05 12-09-97