Underlining Pope John Paul II's increasing role in Cuban affairs since his trip there, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited the Vatican on Tuesday and urged the pontiff to help free four top political prisoners.

Vatican officials would not say whether they will relay Albright's request to Havana, but they were clearly pleased with what one called ``a sign of U.S. confidence'' in the Roman Catholic Church's growing influence in Cuba.

U.S. officials said Albright met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, to explain Washington's shifts last week to ease U.S. sanctions and step up humanitarian aid to Havana. It was her second visit to the Vatican this month.

Albright also said the Clinton administration wants to expand U.S. aid to the Cuban branch of Caritas, the church's charity agency, but cautioned it must continue ``working independently of the Cuban government,'' one aide said.

Albright hit hardest on the issue of political prisoners, the aides added, requesting the Pope's help in winning the release of an unknown number of inmates and specifically mentioning Cuba's four leading dissidents.

They are Vladimiro Roca, Felix Bonne, Marta Beatriz Roque and Rene Gomez Manzano, leaders of the Internal Dissidence Working Group. Arrested last year and still awaiting trial, they were excluded from the release of nearly 100 dissidents that Cuba carried out last month at the Pope's request.

Albright also told Sodano that Cuban police have made 20 new arrests of dissidents since last month, and forced some 20 of those released in February to seek asylum abroad -- despite John Paul's request while in Cuba that any prisoners who were freed should be allowed to remain in the country.

U.S. officials said Albright emphasized to the Vatican that Washington's relaxation of sanctions was designed to help the Cuban people while President Clinton intends to continue using the embargo to push President Fidel Castro toward political and economic reforms.

``We believe it is essential for the rest of the world to make sure that rogue states in no way are a threat to the rest of society,'' said an official accompanying Albright.

``Her basic message is that we're not doing this for you, Fidel, that our policy remains essentially the same and that the [U.S. trade] embargo remains in place,'' he added.

John Paul has become something of a lightning rod on Cuba since his visit there Jan. 21-25, with dissidents asking the church to cast a protective mantle over them, and the Castro government quietly considering a new law that would legitimize most church activities.

Albright's aides told reporters in Rome that last week's easing of sanctions was adopted as a gesture to the Pope, and not to Castro.