Freedom! Freedom!

At Mass, Pope recognizes Cubans' struggles, calls freedom a necessity

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, looks at the statue of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre before Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass at Antonio Maceo Revolution Square in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, March 26.

Celebrating an outdoor Mass on his first day in Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the struggles of the country's Catholics after half a century of communism and described human freedom as a necessity for both salvation and for social justice.

The Pope spoke March 26 in Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, in Cuba's second-largest city. He had arrived in the country a few hours earlier, after spending three days in Mexico. The Vatican had said the square would hold 200,000 people and it was full; several thousand also filled the streets leading to the square. Cuban President Raul Castro, who welcomed the Pope at the airport, sat in the front row for Mass.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.