BY ELAINE DE VALLE

  Cuba's most internationally renowned opposition activist arrived in Miami over the weekend for a historic -- albeit controversial -- visit to the heart of the Cuban exile community.

  Though Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, 50, has been in Miami before, for a low-profile 1997 trip to treat his son for viral hepatitis at Miami Children's Hospital, this visit is high profile -- aimed at garnering support from skeptical exiles.

  Chief promoter of the Varela Project, a grass-roots petition seeking a national referendum on civil liberties in Cuba, Payá has emerged as one of the island's most
  prominent opposition leaders. He has won praise from such human-rights advocates as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Czech President Vaclav Havel, and his name has been mentioned for the Nobel Peace Prize. Last month, he traveled to France to receive the European Parliament's 2002 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

  SOME OPPOSITION

  International acclaim notwithstanding, Paya; is not widely embraced in Miami, where some Cuban Americans feel he is not aggressive enough in opposing Fidel Castro.

  After spending a few days in Washington, D.C., where he met with Secretary of State Colin Powell and lawmakers, Payá arrived quietly Saturday.

  He promptly attended to the most pressing matter for a devout Catholic who heads Cuba's independent Christian Liberation Movement: He delivered a box of Cuban soil to La Ermita de la Caridad Shrine in Coconut Grove, long considered the spiritual mecca of Cuban exiles.

  At the end of the evening Mass, Bishop Agustín Román invited Payá to the altar, where the Cuban dissident delivered his first speech in Miami, urging about 500 worshipers to support his movement.

  ''This is where the other half of the heart of the Cuban pueblo is and when a heart is divided, both parts suffer,'' Payá said. ``All of us have been uprooted and we find ourselves together here to defend our call for freedom under a roof of love.

  ''Help me. This is a task for all of us,'' he said.

  Today, Payá is scheduled to meet with about 200 exile leaders and activists to discuss the Varela Project at the Felix Varela Center, both named for the 19th-century Cuban priest who was one of the island's early human-rights crusaders, active in the fight for independence from Spain. People who oppose Payá's positions are expected to be in the audience.

  ''That's important to him, too -- to converse with people who don't agree,'' said Janisset Rivero Gutíerrez, executive director of the Cuban Democratic Directorate, an organization that has served as de facto host committee, because of its longtime ties with Payá and other dissidents.

  But many other exiles -- and some other dissidents in Cuba -- are critical of Payá's project. They say it leaves room for the Communist government, and Fidel Castro, to remain in power.

  On Spanish-language radio in Miami, Payá has become the focus of attacks, denounced by some as ``Fidel's ambassador.''

  EXILE GROUPS

  While polls show that many Cuban Americans admire Payá, and that those numbers are growing, 10 exile organizations issued a joint statement last week saying his
  efforts are not viable. They said the initiative legitimizes Cuba's National Assembly, judiciary and Communist systems without demanding an end to the one-party state.

  Ludelina Díaz, 83, said Payá confused her. ''You can't be on both sides,'' said Díaz, who came to the United States from Cuba in 1972.

  ``With Fidel, it's either yes or no. He has us confused. We need something true that we can struggle toward to the end.''

  But others, specifically younger Cubans who have arrived within the past decade or so, say anything is better than the status quo.

  ''If it's going to be an improvement, why not? And then maybe everybody wouldn't want to leave the island,'' said Pavel Ruíz, who came to Miami three years ago with his wife.

  Ruíz also said that it was easy for critics to condemn the movement -- from exile.

  ''Of them all, the only one who has really worked against Fidel in earnest is Payá. The others are all blah, blah, blah,'' the 31-year-old mechanic said.

  Payá will start the day at 7:45 a.m. with a private prayer shared with Román, considered the spiritual leader of Cuban exiles. Then he will have breakfast with Román and other clergy of the Spiritual Guides of Exile, an association of priests, reverends and rabbis who serve the area's Cuban-American faithful.

  After a two-hour period during which he will meet with different exiles, Payá will answer questions at a news conference. Then he will have a catered lunch at the Varela Center with a group of young Cuban-American leaders, after which he meets with The Herald Editorial Board.

  Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.