Meeting to be decided with little notice and could provoke controversy, as critics say pontiff has not been vocal enough in decrying human rights abuses

Pope Francis will meet with Fidel Castro during his upcoming visit to communist-controlled Cuba if the former president’s health is strong enough, according to news reports.

Citing a senior Vatican official who is helping to organise the three-day visit, Bloomberg reported that the meeting would probably be decided with little advanced notice because of Castro’s frail health.

“At the moment, it is not on the agenda,” a Vatican spokesman told the Guardian.

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The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff played a critical role in brokering the diplomatic thaw between Cuba and the US, and a possible meeting between Francis and Fidel could help spur further reconciliation between the two sides.



It could also stoke controversy, particularly among conservatives in the US and some Cuban Americans who believe the Catholic church – which enjoys a unique position of influence within a country that does not allow for dissent – has not been critical enough of human rights abuses by the Cuban government.

Pope Francis is not expected to meet a prominent Cuban dissident group called the Ladies in White, which is comprised of the wives and relatives of former political prisoners, although they have requested a meeting. The group’s leader, Berta Soler, has said she believes that dissident groups will be prevented from attending two masses the pope will be delivering during his trip.

Cuba officially became an atheist state following the 1959 revolution that swept Fidel Castro to power – a designation that remained in place until 1992 – but Francis will be the third pope to visit the country, where the church historically sought to softly push the country to be more open and tolerant, while also condemning the US’s trade embargo.



From the Catholic church’s point of view, the papal meetings have been productive. Fidel Castro reinstated Christmas after he was asked to do so by Pope John Paul II during the Polish – and staunchly anti-communist – pope’s historic visit in 1998.

Francis is well-versed in the history of Cuba and the Catholic church.



In 1998, shortly after Pope John Paul II’s visit, the man who was still known as Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio – now Pope Francis – authored a book called Dialogues Between John Paul II and Fidel Castro. It contains a stern critique of socialism and Castro’s revolution, but in it Bergoglio also insisted that dialogue would help bring about an end to Cuba’s isolation and would ultimately promote democracy.

According to the official Vatican schedule, Francis is due to meet with Fidel’s brother and the current Cuban president, Raul Castro, in Havana’s Palace of the Revolution, on 20 September.

The two have already met at the Vatican in May, where Castro thanked the pope for his intervention in the US negotiations. After the meeting, the Cuban president gushed enthusiastically about his encounter, saying that he was close to finding his way back to the church.

“If the pope keeps going the way he’s going, I’ll come back to the Catholic church,” he said at a news conference. “When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his masses, and with satisfaction.”