Vatican No. 2 hopes to meet Cuba's Raul Castro

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- The most senior official in the Vatican after the Pope said he hopes to meet Cuba's acting president Raul Castro during a February visit to this island.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, said his trip was at least partly related to commemorations of the 10th anniversary of late Pope John Paul II's landmark trip to Cuba in 1998.

""I am preparing a trip to Cuba in the month of February. I hope to meet the brother of Fidel Castro, who now leads the country,"" Bertone told the prominent Italian Catholic magazine, Famiglia Cristiana.

His interview was released to media before publication in the January 6 edition.

Bertone did not say if he also hoped to speak with Fidel, who has not been seen in public since handing power to his brother Raul after undergoing surgery more than 17 months ago.

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