Pope available to meet with Fidel Castro in Cuba
The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI will be available
should Fidel Castro ask to meet with the pontiff when he visits Cuba
later this month.
Castro hosted Pope John Paul II during his historic visit in 1998, but
the 85-year-old former Cuban leader has made only rare public
appearances in recent months. He was last seen in photographs released
by Cuban state media March 2 with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, who
was recovering from tumor surgery in Cuba.
Asked about a possible Fidel Castro-pope meeting at a media briefing
Friday, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that if Castro
"wants to, the pope will be available." Benedict arrives in Cuba from
Mexico on March 26.
During the briefing, Lombardi, asked about the U.S. economic embargo on
Cuba, said the Vatican's "often-repeated position" is contrary to the
measure.
"The Holy See does not hold it to be a positive or useful measure. It is
something that causes the population to suffer, and therefore does not
attain its purpose," he said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/16/2697311/pope-available-to-meet-with-fidel.html
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