STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Pope Leo has arrived in Argentina for the second stop of his tour of Latin America, and this stop could prove to be the most contentious. In his first speeches there, the Pope already took aim at Argentina's far-right president over his deep cuts to social spending. The Pope said people must come first, not the economy. In neighboring Uruguay, the Pope also spoke freely, calling for a larger role for the church in Latin America's most secular nation. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: In his three days in Uruguay, Pope Leo did a lot of what you'd expect.
(CHEERING)
KAHN: Waving at crowds lining streets as he rode by on his popemobile...
POPE LEO XIV: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: ...And blessing houses for the poor, kissing babies and giving and receiving gifts. But Pope Leo also didn't shy from taking on Uruguay secularism and strict separation of church and state.
LEO XIV: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: "We need to all work together - the church, the community and the state," he told a crowd gathered in the small crime-plagued community of Casavalle about 30 minutes outside Montevideo, adding, "we need to awaken from our inertia and advocate for the common good."
Father Pablo Coimbra, who heads Casavalle's small Our Virgin Of Guadalupe Church, says secularism can be positive, but he argues in Uruguay there is a militancy that tries to silence the voice of the church and faithful.
PABLO COIMBRA: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: The sentiment still lives in Uruguay, but he says he believes a new path is being forged to work together, and the Pope's visit helps.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
KAHN: In his final mass Sunday in the small town of Florida, the faithful packed its plaza spilling out into the streets. Twenty-nine-year-old preschool teacher Victoria Parez (ph) says the pope made her feel hopeful again.
VICTORIA PAREZ: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "I used to be very religious, but after a while, I stopped believing." She says she thinks she'll start going to church again.
LEO XIV: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: "Thank you so much, Uruguay," said the Pope as he readied to leave, grateful, he said, for the warmth he received in the Latin American country with the smallest number of Catholics.
Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Florida, Uruguay. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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