Chávez Back in Cuba for Radiation Treatment Mr. Chávez has locked horns in the past with the Catholic hierarchy in his country, but since he fell ill with cancer last year, he has increasingly put his personal religious expressions on public display. He went to Catholic shrines in Venezuela to give thanks for his apparent return to health after an initial round of cancer treatments last year. And he frequently talks about Jesus Christ, saying that both Christ and socialism represent love. Mr. Chávez, 57, underwent a radiation therapy session late Saturday after arriving in Havana. He was scheduled for four additional daily sessions through Wednesday. Mr. Chávez talked about his treatment on Sunday during a telephone call that was broadcast on Venezuelan state television. He said he expected to return to Venezuela on Thursday for three days of rest before going back to Cuba for another round of treatment. He did not mention the pope or the possibility of a meeting during the telephone call. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that he had personally informed the pope and his entourage on Sunday morning about Mr. Chávez's visit to Havana. He said they had not received any requests for an audience with Benedict. Anything can change. I don't know," Father Lombardi told reporters on Sunday afternoon during the pope's visit to León, Mexico. This is totally new. It wasn't in the program. Mr. Chávez said he was taking walks in the Havana sunshine, reading about socialism, and working. He said before his trip that the radiation treatment would continue four to five weeks, and that he would fly back and forth between Venezuela and Cuba during that time. He said it was possible that some treatments would take place in Venezuela. Mr. Chávez is running for a new term in an election scheduled for October. His opponent, Henrique Capriles Radonski, has criticized Mr. Chávez's decision to be treated in Cuba, saying that it sends the message that medical facilities in Venezuela are not adequate. Mr. Chávez has never said what kind of cancer he has or exactly where it was found. He had a tumor removed last summer and a second tumor removed from the same place in late February, he said. Rachel Donadio contributed reporting from León, Mexico.