NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      HAVANA (CWNews.com) - A Catholic Church source in Havana confirmed on Wednesday that President Fidel Castro held an "informal conversation" at the residence of the apostolic nuncio to Cuba, Archbishop Beniamino Stella, after the celebration of the Saints Peter and Paul feast on Monday.

      The theme of the conversation was not made public, but the sources said that the two-hour long conversation referred to the visit of Cardinal Pio Laghi, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education. During his five-day long visit, which ended on Tuesday, Cardinal Laghi insisted on the right of the Catholic Church to run Catholic schools. "A secular state means precisely that is not involved in religious issues, and therefore does not favor or oppose religious education," Cardinal Laghi said during his visit.

      The source said "there is a mild hope" that some new leeway could be granted by the government to the Catholic Church. But, he also made clear that "the Catholic Church is hoping, but not yet counting, on such new leeway."