Pope Benedict XVI met former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana on Wednesday. According to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, Benedict, 84, and Castro, 85, had “an exchange of ideas” in a “very cordial” atmosphere. The meeting took place near the end of the pontiff’s three-day visit to the communist-run island, in which the pope called for greater freedoms and a bigger role for the Roman Catholic Church in Cuban society.
