POPE CALLS FOR PEACE IN CUBA.

Pope Francis made his first public appearance since returning to the Vatican mid-week after an 11-day hospital stay, calling on Sunday for peace and dialogue in Cuba after unprecedented, nationwide protests rocked the communist-run country.

“I am also close to the dear people of Cuba in these difficult times,” Francis said in his weekly address in St. Peter's Square. The Pope also urged an end to the recent violence in South Africa and called the deadly floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands a “catastrophe.”

The pontiff also told well-wishers they should take a break and switch off from the stresses of modern life. “Let us learn how to take a break, to turn off the mobile phone,” he said.