Pope, Fidel Castro meet

visit to Cuba, where he called for greater freedom and a bigger role for the Catholic Church in the nation.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Pope Benedict (84), and Fidel Castro (85) had an “exchange of ideas” in a “very cordial” atmosphere.
Castro led a 1959 revolution and transformed the Caribbean island into a communist state, ruling it for 49 years before stepping down due to poor health in 2008.
Castro arrived for his meeting with the Pope in a green Mercedes-Benz SUV amid heavy security that included armed guards in a phalanx of surrounding black Mercedes cars.
He was helped out by two assistants, who supported him as he walked slowly up the steps into the stately white building where Pope Benedict spent Tuesday night and where Pope John Paul II stayed during his landmark 1998 visit.
“What does a pope do?” Castro asked Benedict, who is just one year his junior.
The pontiff told him of his ministry, his foreign trips and his service to the Church, saying he was happy to be in Cuba and with the welcome he received.
Dressed in a dark Reebok tracksuit and wearing a scarf, Castro told the pontiff he had watched his whole visit on television. Two of his children were also presented to the Pope.
Castro handed the reins of power to his younger brother, Raul, four years ago and he has since largely retired from government but he still writes columns and meets with visiting leaders.
He told the pontiff he was spending most of his time reading and reflecting on the state of the world.
His columns are posted on the Internet and read aloud on state television, and cover his fears of impending Armageddon, the evils of consumerism and his criticisms of arch ideological foe, the United States. — Reuters.