Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Cuba today after a three-day visit to Mexico. It’s his first time visiting both countries. During his visit to the island nation, the Pope says he hopes to build on the dialogue and cooperation ushered in by his predecessor, John Paul II — whose visit in 1998 was considered groundbreaking. How do locals feel about the current Pope’s visit? And what, exactly, is the Pope’s desired outcome of the visit? Sarah Rainsford, Havana correspondent for our partner the BBC, joins us from Cuba.

Talking to reporters Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI had strong words about the abuse scandals that have plagued the church, saying, “sins inside the church” threatened Catholicism, and that “forgiveness does not substitute justice.” The notion that penance is different from justice is significant as the church sees a clash between those who want to protect priests those who are fighting for more transparency.

When Pope Benedict XVI was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he did not defrock a priest who allegedly molested as many as 200 deaf boys over the course of decades, according to records obtained by The New York Times. 

Hundreds of sexual abuse cases against Catholic priests have been surfacing in Ireland over the past weeks and the Pope said he will address the crisis in a repentance letter tomorrow.

But his efforts could be undermined by a scandal of his own. Last week, a senior church official said when the Pope was Archdiocese of Munich, he made “serious mistakes” in handling one specific priest accused of molesting boys back in the early 1980s.

 

Father Peter Hullerman, a German Catholic priest, was suspended Tuesday. He had been allowed to stay in a rectory to receive "therapy," after being accused of abusing an 11-year-old boy in 1980. The decision to finally suspend him came days after he returned from a camping trip with children.

• Rome Takeout: The Pope will break tradition by holding Christmas Eve Mass two hours early, at 10 p.m. instead of midnight. We speak with David Willey, BBC Vatican correspondent, about why 82-year-old Pope Benedict might be making the change.
• Listeners' Takeout: We hear listeners croon more of their favorite holiday music.

Pope Benedict XVI has signed a decree that shifts World War II-era Pope Pius XII one step closer to sainthood. But there are some in the Jewish community who say that Pius did little to stop the murder of some 6 million Jews by Germany's Nazi regime during his papacy, which began in 1939 and ended in 1958. Kenneth Woodward is a contributing editor for Newsweek. He covered religion for the magazine for nearly 40 years, and is the author of "Making Saints: How The Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes A Saint, Who Doesn't, And Why."

The Obamas arrived back home this weekend after a two-week trip through Europe and Africa. Michelle Obama with her mom and two kids joined the president in Moscow, and from there went to Italy and Ghana. While the president's schedule was widely publicized, The Takeaway looks at what the rest of the family was up to. Lynn Sweet, who writes the column The Daily Flotus for Politics Daily and is Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, talks about what the first family did on the trip.

President Barack Obama will meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican today. Catholics supported President Obama in the U.S. during the elections— he won the majority of their votes. But there continues to be friction between Catholics and the president over the issue of abortion. Joining The Takeaway is BBC Rome Correspondent David Willey who is at the Vatican today. Also joining the conversation is Cathleen Kaveny, the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law and Theology at Notre Dame University.

President Obama has nominated Miguel Diaz, a Cuban-American theology professor from Minnesota, as the new ambassador to the Vatican. If confirmed by the Senate, Diaz will be the first Latino to fill this post. He will also be inheriting a position that has been vacant since the January departure of Mary Ann Glendon, a Bush appointee and a staunch abortion opponent. David Willey, BBC's Rome correspondent joins us with more.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Israel today after spending three days in neighboring Jordan. Israeli leaders, including President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, gathered to greet the Pontiff at the airport. But the Pope's visit is not without controversy. After he arrived in Israel, the Pope called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian homeland, a stance that could strain his mission of easing relations between the Vatican and Jews. For more we turn to the BBC's Rome correspondent and Pope watcher, David Willey.

Pope Benedict arrived in Israel today. It's the fourth day of his eight-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Pope's visit coincides with intense diplomatic efforts to re-start the Mideast peace process. King Abdullah of Jordan says the U.S. is putting the final touches to a new multi-party and comprehensive plan for peace in the Middle East. For more on this ambitious plan, we turn to the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

Pope Benedict is continuing his first trip through Africa as Pontiff. He's arriving in Angola right now and, as more than half of Angolans are Catholic, the excitement is high. Searching for hope, peace, and glimpse of the Pope, Angolans are flooding the streets of Luanda, where BBC correspondent Louise Redvers is right now.