HAVANA (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Jaime Ortega of Havana urged Cubans to pray for six-year-old Elian Gonzalez, but said they should not criticize the Catholic Church for an American nun's support for keeping him in the US.

    Elian entered the US in November after he was found clinging to a raft off the coast of Florida. His mother and 10 others died when the boat they were using to travel to the US sank. Now Communist Cuba has demanded the boy be returned to his father in the island-nation, while Cuban-Americans maintain the boy should remain with US relatives.

    Massive protests have been organized by the Communist government and began to turn against the Church after Elian's grandmothers traveled to the US last month and were hosted by Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin, president of Barry University, as they met the boy. After the meeting, O'Laughlin said she was convinced the boy should remain in the US.

    In a statement released Wednesday, Cardinal Ortega expressed concern about the derogatory references to O'Laughlin that appear daily in the local media and about criticism of Pope John Paul II for not pressing for Elian's return. He denounced "repeated references in the media to the sexual conduct of priests in the United States and statistics about clergyman sick with AIDS." He added that he hoped the comments were not part of a government-orchestrated campaign, and said the comments had unleashed "prejudices and dark feelings" against the Church.