Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the decision of An Taoiseach Enda Kenny to invite Pope Francis to Ireland. The invitation from the Taoiseach was issued during the Taoiseach’s visit to Rome for the canonisation of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II.
Enda Kenny said he hoped that if Pope Francis visits Ireland that he would be able to visit both north and south of the border. The Taoiseach stressed that the new relationship between Britain and Ireland and the political process in Northern Ireland as something which he believed would allow the Pope to travel north something which wasn’t possible when John Paul II visited Ireland in1979.
Patrick O’Donovan said that while the decision to issue an invite to Pope Francis was a matter for the Catholic Bishops, he said that the commitment of Enda Kenny to provide Government support to the invitation and a pledge to do everything necessary to ensure that any visit would be a success needed to be acknowledged. He said that given that the Bishops had issued the invitation, he hope that the diplomatic channels of the Papal Nuncio in Dublin together with the soon to be announced Irish Ambassador to the Holy See would begin working on organising a visit to Ireland.
Patrick O’Donovan said that the invitation to Pope Francis together with the decision of the Government to re-open the Embassy of Ireland to the Holy See should be seen as clear examples of the strong relationships between Ireland and the Vatican.