The Vatican consistently has criticized the U.S. embargo against Cuba and hopes the Obama administration will lift the restrictions, recognizing the fact that they cause untold suffering for the Cuban people, a Vatican official said. Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, visited Cuba on Nov. 4-8. The embargo “undeniably has a negative influence on the life of the people,” Archbishop Celli told Vatican Radio Nov. 13. Asked whether he expects U.S. President Barack Obama to change U.S. policy, Archbishop Celli said, “I hope this can occur because, undeniably, it is the population that suffers most.” He said that while the Catholic Church in Cuba has few resources and extremely limited access to the media, its communications efforts are having an impact.