Listen: Change and challenges in Cuba

Young Christian Cubans in classDriving through the streets of CubaThe faithful in Cuba outside their restored churchA government billboard of President Raul Castro in CubaChildren in Cuba listen to a Bible storyMotorcyclists in Santiago pass a billboard of Fidel and Raul Castro, which says 'Rebel yesterday, welcoming today, heroic always'

Young Christian Cubans in class

Driving through the streets of Cuba

The faithful in Cuba outside their restored church

A government billboard of President Raul Castro in Cuba

Children in Cuba listen to a Bible story

Motorcyclists in Santiago pass a billboard of Fidel and Raul Castro, which says 'Rebel yesterday, welcoming today, heroic always'

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Church leaders in Cuba are optimistic that change for the better is slowly coming about in the communist Caribbean island.

They speak with hope of "a new way of interacting with the authorities on the island," pointing to a thawing of relations between the government and the Church which has seen the relaxation of controls on worship.

However, many challenges remain. In this recording John Pontifex, Aid to the Church in Need's head of press and information, talks about the rapprochement between Church and State, and the reality of life for the faithful as they hope for a brighter future.