Luanda - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday called for the further evangelization of the African continent on the second day of his first visit to Angola.

Five hundred years after Catholic missionaries began converting people in present-day Angola to Christianity - the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to be evangelized - many people still lacked direction and feared unholy spirits and powers, he told a mass attended by local bishops and priests in Luanda's Sao Paulo church.

Luanda/Rome - The Angolese President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos on Friday is not allowing foreign press to formal visiting ceremony by Pope Benedict XVI despite a previous agreement.

Vatican spokesman Padr Federico Lombardi announced that the Vatican would request an explanation from the Angolan ambassador in Rome.

Vatican journalists reported that only representatives of Angola's national media were allowed into the ceremonial visit by the pope.

Yaounde  - Pope Benedict XVI was expected in Angola on Friday on the second leg of his week-long maiden trip as pontiff to the continent - which has been overshadowed by his controversial remarks about condoms.

Angola's minister for public administration and employment told public sector workers they could take the day off to mark the papal visit, the state Angop news agency reported.

Benedict was scheduled to meet with the country's president of 30 years, Eduardo dos Santos, on his arrival in the capital Luanda.

Paris  - The French government on Wednesday sharply criticized comments made by Pope Benedict XVI regarding the effectiveness of condoms in the fight against AIDS.

"Such statements are a danger to public health policies and the protection of human life," foreign affairs ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told journalists in Paris. "The condom is an important element in the fight against the spread of AIDS."

Vatican City - The Vatican's official website, www. vatican. va will feature a new Chinese section from January 19, the Vatican said Monday.

"Thanks to the new service, internet users from throughout the world will be able to navigate in Chinese to access the texts of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI which will be available in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters," the Vatican said in a statement.

Rome  - The Vatican and Washington are in the process of organizing a meeting of Pope Benedict XVI with US President Barack Obama, Italian media quoted US Vatican representative Thomas J Reese as saying.

It is possible that the two leaders would meet during Obama's first visit to Europe on the occasion of the G20 summit in London in April, Reese said in an interview on Italian television.

According to the Ansa news agency, the Holy See has unofficially confirmed the proposed meeting.