1.   The Castro government and its supporters hope the pontiff uses his visit to criticize the US embargo.

2.   The pontiff used his five-day Mexico visit to outline church strategy throughout the Americas for the start of the new millennium.

3.   The pontiff used the Mass to draw attention to the plight of flood-stricken Mozambique, dedicating the offering collected at the ceremony to their aid.

4.   The pontiff also used his comments to condemn the civil war in the former Yugoslavia -- echoing his repeated denunciations in previous speeches.

5.   The pontiff used a cane for support, as he has done for some time now.

6.   The pontiff has used his five-day visit to outline church strategy throughout the Americas for the start of the new millennium.

7.   However, the pontiff used the occasion to hail the peaceful coexistence of different ethnic groups in a country like the United States.