SILAO, mexico — Pope Benedict XVI began a pilgrimage to the New World on Friday calling on Mexicans to conquer an “idolatry of money” that feeds drug violence. He also urged Cuba to leave behind Marxism as it “no longer responds to reality.”
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and first lady Margarita Zavala greeted the pope as he landed in Guanajuato — a deeply conservative state in sun-baked central Mexico — and escorted him along a red carpet amid a clanging of church bells and cheers from a crowd waving Vatican flags. A swelling throng gathered to cheer him along his path from the airport on his first visit to Spanish-speaking Latin America.
“Benedict, brother, you are now Mexican,” some in the crowd shouted.
He descended the stairs without the cane he had used when he walked to the plane in Rome, the first time he was seen with it in public.
Upon his arrival, Benedict referred again to the everyday violence that ordinary Mexicans confront, saying he was praying for all in need, “particularly those who suffer because of old and new rivalries, resentments and all forms of violence.”
He said he was coming to Mexico as a pilgrim of hope, to encourage Mexicans to “transform the present structures and events which are less than satisfactory and seem immovable or insurmountable while also helping those who do not see meaning or a future in life.”
After the Alitalia plane carrying the pontiff landed, the streets of nearby Leon took on a carnival atmosphere as the crowds and their enthusiasm grew steadily. Police blocked traffic on the central boulevard the pope would travel, and spectators lined up three and four people deep on both sides of the avenue. Nearly everyone stopped to watch the arrival on restaurant and shop televisions.
“Mexico is standing because we’re a country that perseveres with hope and solidarity, we’re a people with values and principles that believe in family, liberty, justice and democracy,” Calderon said in a speech on the tarmac to cheers of “Viva!” from the crowd. “Your visit fills us with joy in moments of great tribulation.”
Benedict acknowledged the historic nature of Pope John Paul II’s 1979 trip to Mexico — the first by any pontiff. The visit, just months after he was elected pope and his first foreign trip, came at a time in which Mexico’s anti-religion laws were so restrictive that John Paul was technically breaking the law by wearing clerical garb in public.
Mentions of John Paul by the president and Benedict brought cheers.
John Paul also made a historic visit to Cuba in 1998, where upon his arrival in Havana, he pronounced the now-famous words: “May Cuba, with all its magnificent potential, open itself up to the world, and may the world open itself up to Cuba.”
Benedict told reporters those words remain true today and that John Paul’s visit had launched a path of “collaboration and constructive dialogue” that continues, albeit slowly.
On Monday, Benedict heads to Cuba. He said it is “evident that Marxist ideology, as it was conceived, no longer responds to reality,” and he urged Cubans to “find new models, with patience and in a constructive way.”
Asked about reports that dissidents in Cuba still are routinely harassed and arrested, including in the weeks leading up to his visit, Benedict said the church wants “to help in the spirit of dialogue to avoid trauma and to help bring about a just and fraternal society, as we want in the whole world.”
The week-long trip to Mexico and Cuba, Benedict’s first to both countries, will be a test of stamina for the pope, who turns 85 next month. At the airport Friday in Rome, the pope used a cane as he walked about 100 yards to the airliner’s steps.
Papal aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Benedict has been using the cane in private for a few months because it makes him feel more secure. In the fall, the pope started using a wheeled platform to navigate the vast spaces of St. Peter’s Basilica during ceremonies. The Vatican said the device helped the pope conserve his energy.
