Giving a voice to a church that had long been silenced, Cuban Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino is among a long list of contenders to become the next pope.

BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

This is one of a series of profiles of the papabili, the pope-ready men in the College of Cardinals.

Once confined in a Cuban hard-labor camp with dissidents, petty criminals, homosexuals and other ''enemies of the Cuban revolution,'' Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino has emerged as a voice in a church that was all but totally silenced after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.

Ortega has earned some respect for his relatively independent stand on Castro's communist regime, and worked diligently to rebuild a church decimated by government restraints and teach a largely baptized but vastly untutored population.

Nearly half of Cuba's 11.2 million people consider themselves Catholics, but few are devoted practitioners in a nation where the government was officially atheist for more than two decades and often promoted other religions as a counterweight.

Seen as a deft conciliator between the notoriously divided Cuban exile community and those who stayed behind, Ortega, 68, is among several cardinals considered to be possible successors to Pope John Paul II.

COMMUNICATOR

Ortega is called an effective communicator who can bolster the enthusiasm for the Catholic faith, especially among youth.

He began to emerge as a vocal leader in 1986 when an unprecedented weeklong conference of Cuban Catholics took place in Havana. Ortega told delegates that Cuba's is a ''church whose history has shown that the light always shines after dark times.'' As president the Cuban Bishops' Conference, Ortega has issued several pastoral letters urging a political opening.

In many ways, Ortega's career mirrors the experience of the Cuban church.

Born in 1936 in the north-central town of Jaguey Grande, in the province of Matanzas, he studied at a seminary in Quebec, Canada, and was ordained a priest in the Matanzas Cathedral in 1964.

But under Castro the church-state relations soured. Many priests were forced to flee Cuba and religious schools were closed. Believers were persecuted and religious expression outside the church was prohibited.

In 1966, Ortega was forced to a labor camp where he spent about a year alongside others deemed anti-revolutionary.

For many years, the Cuban church remained timid in challenging the regime. But it began to blossom in the mid-1980s when Cuba's Communist Party began a more tolerant attitude toward religion.

CHURCH REBIRTH

Ortega was appointed archbishop in 1981 and under his leadership, there was a rebirth within the church. Mass attendance shot up and thousands took part in street processions in honor of Cuba's patron saint, Our Lady of Charity.

He was tapped by John Paul II in 1994, becoming Cuba's first cardinal in 30 years.

On most church questions, he hews very closely to the Vatican line. Ortega has urged his nation not to construct a post-communist future on the basis of hyper-capitalist principles. He also has said the death penalty, abortion, human rights abuses and the U.S. embargo against Cuba impoverish the people.

Ortega has been careful not to preach politics, choosing instead to focus on spiritual concerns and Christian values. But when he does speak out, his words are powerful.

He expressed disagreement with the death penalty in 1989, when Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa and three other military officials were executed. He also exhorted the government to investigate the sinking of a tugboat in July 1994 that led to the death of more than 40 people. And in a declaration in 1995, he asked that both the U.S. and Cuban governments cease to treat Cubans -- both on the island and in exile -- as political pawns.

But his biggest moment came in 1998, when John Paul II made a historic trip to Cuba.

Following the pope's visit, the church experienced another resurgence and grew more bold and began distributing publications that contained candid messages. Still, Cuba remains the only Latin American nation that bans parochial schools.

In 2003, Ortega called on the government to soften its traditionally heavy hand.

''The time has come to go from the avenging State that demands sacrifices and settles accounts to the merciful State that is ready to lend a compassionate hand before it imposes controls and punishes infractions,'' said a pastoral letter signed by Ortega.