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    November 20, 2011

Pope Benedict Celebrates Mass Before Thousands on Final Day in Benin

   VOA News
   Pope Benedict XVI waves to the Catholic faithful as he arrives for
   Sunday Mass, at the national stadium in Cotonou, Benin, November 20,
   2011.
   Photo: AP
   Pope Benedict XVI waves to the Catholic faithful as he arrives for
   Sunday Mass, at the national stadium in Cotonou, Benin, November 20,
   2011.

   Pope Benedict celebrated Mass before tens of thousands of jubilant
   Roman Catholics in Benin Sunday.
   A crowd of more than 30,000 faithful, many dressed in colorful robes
   and dresses danced in praise at a stadium in Benin's largest city,
   Cotonou.
   The Mass capped his three day visit to the small West African country.
   On Saturday, the pontiff signed a document reflecting recommendations
   to African church leaders who in 2009 studied the continent's
   challenges, including conflict, poverty and corruption.
   On his first trip to Africa in 2009, the pope stirred controversy when
   he suggested to reporters on his plane that condoms aggravate the AIDS
   problem. He has since seemed to back off from that position, and has
   not even mentioned condoms during this visit.
   The pope also had a message of compassion for African leaders. Earlier
   Saturday, he urged them not to rob their people of hope.
   In a reference to corruption and good governance, Pope Benedict told
   political and religious leaders at the presidential palace in Benin's
   commercial capital of Cotonou not to cut off the people "from their
   future by mutilating their present."
   Despite Benin's strong voodoo tradition, the Catholic population in the
   small West African country has surged to 30 percent in recent years.
   This is the pope's second trip to Africa. In 2009, he traveled to
   Cameroon and Angola.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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