Cuba and the Holy See ratified the good level of ties during the delivery of the award Knight Grand Cross of the Order Piana to the Ambassador of Cuba, Eduardo Delgado, Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday.
According to a statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director of Protocol of the Secretary of State, Monsignor Nwachukwu Fortunatus said that such a distinction given to Delgado, the most papal given to the laity, is a concrete gesture of appreciation to bilateral ties.
You must appreciate this and, therefore, the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has asked me to give you this order in this simple but very important act, Fortunatus told to Delgado.
Delgado said he received the award as an "expression of the high level of relations between our country, the government and people of Cuba with the Holy See."
It gives me particular emotion to occur within weeks after the visit of His Holiness Benedict XVI to Cuba, which has put relations on a higher level, Delgado said, according to the note by the Foreign Ministry.
The Pope made, from March 26 to 28, an apostolic visit to Cuba, where he fulfilled a busy schedule that included two public Masses and meetings with President Raul Castro and Revolution leader Fidel Castro.
"I have in the depths of my being to each and every one of the Cubans, who have surrounded me with their prayers and affection, giving me a warm hospitality and making me a participant in its deepest and just aspirations," said the Bishop of Rome before the end of his stay.
Benedict XVI also criticized the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba by the United States.
Referring to the policy pursued by Washington for over 50 years, the Pope criticized the "restrictive economic measures imposed from outside the country," which "weigh negatively on the population."