ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />STORY: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday (June 17) for talks on political and social issues.<br/> <br />The pontiff and Maduro discussed how to deal with the problem of poverty and the fight against crime and drug trafficking.<br/> <br />Nicolas Maduro, who was elected in April after the death of leader Hugo Chavez from cancer, has vowed to extend his predecessor's 14-year self-styled revolution that enjoyed strong support among the country's poor.<br/> <br />So far relations between the Catholic Church and Maduro have not been overly friendly and Pope Francis stressed the important role of the Catholic Church within society during their meeting.<br/> <br />Maduro has called on his political rivals to work towards reconciliation following his rise to power.
