( CNN ) -- Responding to Pope Benedict XVI 's comment that Marxism `` no longer responds to reality , '' Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Friday that his country respects all opinions . `` We consider the exchange of ideas useful , '' Rodriguez said at Havana 's historic Hotel Nacional , adding that his country is perfecting its system . The pontiff answered reporters ' questions about the Caribbean communist island on the papal plane Friday as he began a six-day trip to Mexico and Cuba , according to the Vatican . He arrived in Mexico on Friday afternoon . `` With this visit , a way of cooperation and dialogue has been inaugurated , a long road that requires patience but that leads forward , '' the pope said , according to the Vatican . `` It is evident today that Marxist ideology as it had been conceived no longer responds to reality , '' Benedict continued . `` New models must be found , though with patience , '' the pontiff said . He also responded to questions about the role of the church in combating Mexico 's drug trafficking violence . `` It is certainly a great responsibility for the Catholic church , in a country in which 80 % of the people are Catholic . We must work against this evil , which is destructive of mankind and ( especially ) of our youth , '' Benedict said , according to the Vatican . `` The church 's great responsibility , therefore , is to educate consciences , to educate in the moral responsibility and to unmask evil , to unmask this idolatry of money that enslaves men ; to expose these false promises , lies , deceits , we must see that humanity needs the infinite , '' the pope said . Benedict also spoke to how Latin America is celebrating two centuries of independence . `` Naturally , the church must always ask herself whether enough is being done for social justice on this great continent , '' the pontiff said . `` The church is not a political power , not a party but a moral reality , a moral power . '' Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the geographic center of Mexico on Friday afternoon , commencing his tour . The pope arrived in the state of Guanajuato , where he will meet with President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa on Saturday and then preside at Mass on Sunday in the Parque Bicentenario of Leon , Mexico 's fourth largest city , the Vatican said . On Monday , he will depart for Cuba . Benedict XVI will visit Santiago de Cuba and Havana , where Fidel Castro 's communist government expelled Catholic church officials after his 1959 revolution . The government did not re-establish formal ties with the Vatican until a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998 . The pope 's visit is to mark the `` bicentenary of the independence of the peoples of Latin America ; the Mexicans ' enthusiastic desire to welcome the Pope ; the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Holy See ; and the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the image of 'Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre ' in Cuba , with its concomitant Holy Year , '' a Vatican spokesman said . The pope 's visit to Mexico will be `` a journey of hope , '' Vatican spokesman the Rev . Federico Lombardi said in a statement . Mexicans are `` a people with immense resources and potential , but currently afflicted by serious problems which weigh on their present and future , first among them the problem of violence , '' Lombardi said , an apparent reference to the carnage caused by drug cartel warfare . The Vatican also struck a theme of `` hope for Cubans '' in describing Benedict 's journey to the communist nation that had at one time been officially atheist . Cubans `` feel they are on the threshold of what is potentially a new epoch , in which John Paul II 's words on the reciprocal openness of Cuba and the world may be realized in a climate of development , freedom and reconciliation , '' Lombardi said . Benedict is committed to a `` continental mission '' in Latin America , launched at the Aparecida Conference , where the church seeks to continue making her `` inspirational contribution to the progress of the continent , so that human and Christian values may guarantee integral human development , despite the difficulties and dangers of our time , '' Lombardi said . CNN 's David Ariosto contributed to this report .
` ` We find the exchange of ideas useful , '' Cuban president responds . Pontiff says Mexican drug trafficking is ` ` idolatry of God that enslaves men '' The pope is making his first visit to Mexico and Cuba . Benedict XVI will visit Cuban cities of Santiago de Cuba and Havana .