NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      MIAMI (CWNews.com) - A much-delayed relief flight to Havana sponsored by the Archdiocese of Miami may finally get off the ground on Thursday, bringing medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to Communist Cuba.

      The trip would be the first direct flight of humanitarian aid from the US to Cuba since the Clinton administration suspended them in 1996 because of the shootdown of a civilian aircraft. The policy change is among the handful of significant relief gestures made by the US since Pope John Paul II visited Cuba in January and called for an end to the 36-year-old embargo of the country.

      The Catholic Charities flight was initially given approval by the US government in May, but bureaucratic red tape in both Washington and Havana have continually delayed the trip. The humanitarian aid includes $2 million worth of food and medical supplies, ranging from wheelchairs to syringes and surgical masks. It will be delivered directly to Caritas Cuba for delivery to a leper hospital and other facilities.