CUBA LIBRE

By DOUGLAS WALLER AND J.F.O. MCALLISTER/WASHINGTON

It seems to have taken a form of divine intervention for the U.S. to loosen its embargo against Cuba just a tiny bit. To help POPE JOHN PAUL II's visit there next month, Washington will allow a cruise ship, some church supplies and as many as 10 chartered airline flights to take pilgrims from Miami to Havana. Might this be the start of a thaw? Well, one U.S. official noted that FIDEL CASTRO "is saying things he never said before," including asking a group of Protestants to pray for his country. National Security Adviser SANDY BERGER explained it this way: Washington "wants the Pope's visit to have a lasting effect." But no formal review of Cuba policy is under way, and no one expects John Paul to convert the communist graybeard to democracy and capitalism.

--By Douglas Waller and J.F.O. McAllister/Washington