Caritas International hopes Pope’s Mexico-Cuba visit will help improve people’s lives

(March 23, 2012) The head of the Catholic Church’s worldwide confederation of national charities hopes Pope Benedict XVI’s current visit Mexico and Cuba will help improve the lives of people in the two countries. In a brief note on its website, Caritas Internationalis said its president Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga hopes the trip will focus on social issues such as violence in Mexico and poverty in Cuba. “It’s an opportunity to look at how violence and drug wars are ruining a beautiful country and affecting the whole continent,” said Cardinal Rodriguez referring to Mexico. “Our prayers are with the Holy Father and that his trip to Cuba helps open the island and improve the lives of the people,” he added. Pope Benedict XVI on Friday flew to Mexico, from where he will fly to Cuba on March 26 before returning to Rome on March 29. To mark the Pope’s trip, Caritas is highlighting the work of Caritas Mexico and Caritas Cuba on its website.