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Andrew Medichini / AP
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he boards a plane on his way to a six-day visit to Mexico and Cuba, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport, on Friday
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE -- Pope Benedict said on Friday communism no longer works in Cuba and the Catholic Church was ready to help the island find new ways of moving forward without "trauma."
Speaking on the plane taking him from Rome for a trip to Mexico and Cuba, the pope told reporters: "Today it is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality."
Responding to a question about his visit to the island, a communist bastion 90 miles off the coast of the United States for more than 50 years, Benedict added: "New models must be found with patience and in a constructive way...we want to help."
Benedict, who is due to arrive in Cuba on Monday after a three-day visit to Mexico, called for freedom of conscience and freedom of religion on the island.
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Also on Friday, Benedict promised to "unmask the evil" of drug trafficking in Mexico, which has been wracked by a surge in gang violence over the past five years.
'We are all fed up'
The pope gave a forceful response when asked on board his plane about drug trafficking in Mexico, which has generated violence claiming some 50,000 lives since 2007.
"We must do whatever is possible to combat this destructive evil against humanity and our youth," he told reporters. "It is the responsibility of the Church to educate consciences, to teach moral responsibility and to unmask the evil, to unmask this idolatry of money which enslaves man, to unmask the false promises, the lies, the fraud that is behind drugs."
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The relentless bloodletting was in the mind of many of those waiting to see Benedict in Leon, a Roman Catholic stronghold that has avoided the worst of the brutal turf wars between drug cartels and clashes with security forces.
"The Church has to address the violence, give us a message that there can be change. We are all fed up, our society has been hurt," said Ruben Santibanez, a local doctor.
Christophe Pierre, the Vatican's diplomatic representative in Mexico, said Benedict would not ignore Mexico's plight.
"Violence is being talked about, we can't hide it, but there is a lot more to Mexico than the violence, and the desire to live in harmony is precisely what the Holy Father is coming for," he said on Thursday.
Images: Mexico gets ready for Pope's visit
Crowds of devout Mexicans readied campsites in Leon in preparation for a massive outdoor mass on Sunday where hundreds of thousands of people are expected.
Benedict hopes to rally the faithful in the world's second most populous Catholic nation as more Mexicans are lured to evangelical Protestant churches.
But the German pope faces a challenge generating the same kind of fervor as his charismatic Polish predecessor, Pope John Paul, who was beloved in Latin America and drew pulsating crowds whenever he criss-crossed the region during his 27-year papacy.
Abuse scandals
Highlighting the growing religious divisions in Mexico, a large Protestant church in Leon held a service with hundreds of worshipers on Thursday, prominently displaying a sign that read "We are not Roman Catholics."
The Vatican has been stung by accusations of child abuse by priests in parishes around the world - including revelations about Mexican religious leader Marcial Maciel, who founded a prominent Catholic order, the Legionaries of Christ.
Maciel, who died in 2008 at the age of 87, was disgraced by allegations of sexual abuse and drug addiction.
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During the pope's visit, religious scholar Bernardo Barranco will present a new book by ex-Legionaries with scores of leaked Vatican documents the authors say prove the Holy See knew about Maciel's molestation of young boys and morphine use for decades.
The hacker group Anonymous in Mexico crashed at least two of the websites for Benedict's visit to Mexico on Thursday, claiming his trip is a political move to support the president's party.
Anonymous Mexico said in a video posted on social media sites that the pope's visit will cost Mexicans money that could be better spent on the poor, and is meant to support the PAN in the July 1 presidential election. PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota trails front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party by at least 10 percentage points in most polls.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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America has blockaded Cuba since the day Castro took over. America has done everything possible to prevent Castro's version of communism from succeding. American conservatives cum all over themselves cozying up to a conservatively controlled (Wealth flowing toward the top) communist country like China for profit but they do everything in their power to stop a small defenseless (Share the wealth) communist country like Cuba. Liberal policies and thought must be stamped out at all costs. How many papal visas did the vatican issue to the Nazi hierarchy to allow them to escape to South America as payback for attacking Communist (Athiest) Russia? Hey Pope...Ill tell ya what doesnt work, being the head of an organization that condones and practices pedophilia.
that is a incorrect statement, the celibacy laws of the church are now 1600 years old; they must be removed , just as they were with the Greek Orthodox Catholic church, just as they were with the Episcopal Church and the Lutheran catholic church; it is un-natural and counter productive, tradition is getting in the way of common sense.
Pope also pooped today which is much more vital and interesting than Quba.
parts of the pope's speach might as well apply to the UNITES STATES OF OBAMA.
What is a speach? Does your comment have any meaning?
Perhaps but democracy does work in western culture either because the rich and multi-national corporations are running the shows and the people are just hyped by hysteria over a few hot button issues and the rest of the system runs on its own with no one really in control at all and it is a war-based system in all the institutions of western civilization and we have lots of wars to prove it as in the permanent state of war we are in now. Lots of the wars have been religious even.
Can you believe that the Pope is capable to solve the Mexican drug problems that the police could not yet put ends to it? let us see if the soul and spirit will work with tuff guys and bring peace to violance regions!!!
Capitalism is doing fine in Mexico. Don't tinker with a good system. Cuba is the real problem the world needs to deal with. They are producing far too many educated people. They are flooding the third world with medical professionals. They are a threat to the USA's gun culture. We need to get in there and destroy their pristine environment.
We could have told the Cubans that (communism doesnt work) years ago.
Trouble is the "Chief Communist" in Cuba has no other role to play and he's doomed to go down as the "captain" of his ill-fated "ship".
I doubt we'll see the egomaniacal Castro walking barefoot through Havana and kissing the Pope's ring..
Nonetheless, the pope's visit hopefully will pour some "oil on the water" before the upheaval comes...a la the Wizard of Oz.....
Curious Bob it seems you know little about Castro, "egomaniac", really? A man that prohibited to name anything (building, street, ship, etc.) after himself, has not build a single palace for him to live and wore military fatigues most of his life, when he could be wearing Armani suits. Castro is an a$$hole, dictator, murderer, but not egomaniac.
I'm getting old here in Miami and my grandchildren don't feel any attachment to the great plantations I used to own in Cuba. I want my land back now. I can't afford to keep lobbying all these darn American politicians to keep the U.S. from doing business with Cuba. I sure hope they don't buddy up and start doing business with Cuba like they do Communist China and Vietnam. What's this world coming to anyway. Maybe the Pope can talk some sense into Fidel and the boys.
He will try but the people in Cuba are the ones who are at the front and in the end will matter most in countering the communists. I believe the Pope will give them Hope.
What does Fidel think about this ?
He's been pretty sick the last few years. Check with his simple-minded brother Raul.
Since the last Pope visit, he thinks religion could work for Cuba; Castro has always changed coats accordingly to the situation, whatever coat color keeps him in power, he wears.
The Pope should stick to helping his flock, and stay out of politics. We capitalists have a few problems of our own right now! Our government took off the bridle it had on the financial industry, and let it run free. We all know what happened, cause we're still paying for it. Most of us anyway, those who caused the financial meltdown were bailed out by those in office. The "insider trading" bill meant to keep those in office from profiting from inside knowledge has been watered down so much it's meaningless! Jobs, the economy, gas prices, etc. we have a few things to work on right here at home!
By opposing oppressive dictators and the ruin and violence that drugs and cartels have wrought, he is helping his flock and mankind.
WRONG ! ! !
Communism works is Cuba ! ! !
It works for:
1. The Castro Family
2. Fifty Two (52) other Families, aligned with the Communist Party Leadership.
...it does not work for 21,000,000 other people living in Poverty in Cuba.
For the record there are less than 12 million Cubans, I started to get allergic to you.