Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has reacted angrily to claims that his row with the Vatican is behind the decision to close Ireland’s embassy to the Holy See.
The government leader has categorically refuted that the closure is down to anything other than economic reality.
Fianna Fail’s deputy leader Eamon O Cuiv challenged Kenny to admit his row with the Catholic Church over the Cloyne Report was the real reason behind the decision to close the embassy at the Vatican.
Read the article...The closure of the Irish embassy to the Holy See in Rome is a major setback for the Vatican. The decision by Ireland’s government brings to life a number of Vatican nightmares.
First of all, it was made for “economic reasons”, which means that keeping a diplomatic mission at the papal court is supposed to be expensive (implicitly, uselessly expensive). Worse, the costs just seem to be a pragmatic and neutral explanation to cover up a hot political struggle: the sex abuse scandalsinvolving Irish Catholic priests.
But in a period of financial turmoil, economy might be a perfect reason, or excuse, for other governments to take similar steps. This has happened before.
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The Catholic primate of Ireland, Sean Brady, says he’s profoundly disappointed at the Irish government’s announcement that it is to close its embassy to the Vatican. “I wish to express my profound disappointment at this decision which means that Ireland will be without a resident ambassador to the Holy See for the first time since Read more