Page 9 - Patrick Altman News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: there's no way around it, cuba is giving pope francis the rock star treatment. what a cool pope, charmed young cubans in havana. certainly much cooler than the weather. even cuba's scorching september sun couldn't prevent huge crowds from gathering to greet pope francis. vatican officials says the havana mass through 200,000 people. something cuban officials perhaps wary of francis' star power have not confirmed. his was a rare message of inclusiveness in a country that we demands political conformity. and, you cubans, even if you think differently, have different perspectives, he...

Service is never ideological, he says. for we do not serve ideas, we serve people. observers say pope francis is looking not to bring the revolution down. just curb its repressive exists. >> francis as a young man, a young jesuit. he was deeply disappointed when cuba went communist. and i wonder whether francis is now like reminding raul about something about what the revolution was before it went marxist. >> reporter: pope francis met raul's father, the father of marxist in cuba, fidel castro. castro's children and wife who apparently didn't know that wearing white when meeting the pope is a ...

Presidential election heating up the white house is rejektding the notion the pope's trip is all about politics. >> there is no plan or strategy that's been put in place to try to stage an event that will advance anybody's political agenda. >> reporter: that's a tough claim to make considering the pope's positions. as the white house led the charge for same-sex marriage, pope francis has softened his own stance on gay priests. >> translator: if a person is gay and seeks god and has good will, whom am i to judge him? ? >> reporter: on climate change the pope says it's a global problem with gave...

Badly to the united states. a lot of people feel they're owed by the government, but pope francis definitely is a big chip. we'll see how much raul castro is willing to give. >> patrick altman, insightful peace. like it. when we come back, more coverage and we'll tell you about a special documentary we've done for you called the people's pope. tuesday night 9:00 p.m. eastern. to understand the pope, you need to know who he is. we go back to where he's from, where he grew up, we talk to those who know him best. then you'll understand. plaque psoriasis... ...isn't it time to let the... ...real y...

United states. >> that's right. and cuba has had papal visits before. but as our patrick altman explains, this one is special for many reasons. >> reporter: we are in havana's cathedral square, and this is going to be one of the places pope francis visits on his first stop to cuba and the united states. as you can see, let's walk over here towards the cathedral. they're getting everything ready at a furious pace. still lots of work be being done here. streets being fixed up. builds being painted. they're still repairing a lot of the facade of this centuries-old cathedral. why is this so import...