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Government confirms Vatican Embassy closure will stand

By
PATRICK COUNIHAN,
IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Monday, February 20, 2012, 7:46 AM
Updated Monday, February 20, 2012, 9:25 AM

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The entrance to the Irish embassy at the Vatican
The entrance to the Irish embassy at the Vatican
Photo by clericalwhispers.blogspot.com


The Dublin government has again confirmed that the decision to close the Irish Embassy in the Vatican stands.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has stated that the closure will remain in place despite renewed pleas from Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.

Speaking before a mass to welcome the new Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Dr Martin expressed his wish that the embassy to the Holy See be restored.

“I am confident the embassy will re-open in some other way,” said Dr Martin who expressed his belief that the Italian and Vatican embassies could be on the same site, and share some facilities, while remaining separate.

He added: “Maybe it could be a leaner embassy because of the cost involved. I do not think it will be long before other arrangements are found maybe not immediately.”

Catholic leaders and even some Fine Gael deputies in the Irish parliament have made recent calls to re-open the embassy.

But Irish deputy Prime Minister Eamonn Gilmore is adamant that the decision, taken in the wake of the Cloyne Report on Clerical Sexual Abuse as relations between Church and State soured, is not for turning.

His claims have been re-iterated by the statement from the Foreign Affairs department which he oversees.

“It may be reviewed down the line in the light of the economic circumstances and the resources available to the department and our diplomatic network abroad but not in the near future,” said a Department spokesman.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny remains under pressure from within his own ranks to reverse the decision to close the embassy at the Vatican.

Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, effectively number two to Gilmore in the Foreign Affairs department, was among a large number of deputies who last month met a group of lay Catholics seeking the embassy’s retention.

Creighton said at the time: “There will be an opportunity in the future - perhaps not as quickly as we might like - to reopen the embassy.”

​
See more: Irish Catholic Church , Irish Government , Vatican , Catholic Church
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11 Comments

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Collette2 | Feb 23, 2012, 02:48 PM EST
Continue to stand firm Enda Kenney, you give them an inch and they'll take a mile. No other prime minister that I can find record of, worldwide has had the courage to do what you have done, much to their shame.

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IrelandNorth | Feb 22, 2012, 07:47 AM EST
DrREM! You're smokin' too much of d'awl (the old) shamrock weed. Give up your awl (old) sins. "Cost control" mo thoin (me arse/my ass). Enda and Eamon aren't putting a condom on Santa Sede. They're engagin' in the new national sport of Benny Bashin'/Papa Punchin' in exchange for some serious maundy money from the Woman from Auntie - EIIR/QE2. Real politik, my dear woman! They shun one religious leader (Papa Benny) while cowtowing to another (Auntie 'Liz). Italy is a secular republic once ruled by a dictator (Mussolini), now by a IMF accountant. The Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church is a global religious empire ruled over by a theocracy, which cannot be transformed. By all means close the Embassy and keep it closed. But be honest as to why we are doing it.

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Gearoid4 | Feb 21, 2012, 01:55 PM EST
Gilmore is part of the Labor tail which is driving the Fine Gael dog on this and other issues. Enda Kenny has received the ire of his parliamentary Fine Gael colleagues as well as sackfuls of letters of complaint from thousands of angry constituents. It is likely that the decision will be reversed but a slimmed down diplomatic mission to the Holy See will result.

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ciaradexy | Feb 21, 2012, 11:34 AM EST
Good! The vatican should just pair up with the Italian embassy. No special treatment for a rotten organisation which facilitated paedophiles for generations.

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irishpjk | Feb 20, 2012, 05:00 PM EST
My real response will come next election, if it bothers you that is the time to remember.

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DrMcHugh | Feb 20, 2012, 03:17 PM EST
I am in agreement with Seamus Martin and Colette2. The RCC needs renewal for the 21st century. There must be dialogue and the courage for all of the faithful to speak truth in love, and to speak truth to power. There must also be a listening with the ear of our hearts to one another, since all of the faithful are gifted with the wisdom of the Spirit of God in one way or another. Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, M.D., Chicago, Illinois

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SeamusMartin | Feb 20, 2012, 02:31 PM EST
I'm with Colette2 and Dr. McHugh, and more: Let other countries look to Ireland and resolve to do the same... not to bring the RCC to its knees, but to foster a climate for a 21 Century renewal of the RCC; changing the course that brought atrocities to the young, ending mandatory celibacy and embracing the ordination of men and women into the priesthood. If all this points to a United Ireland, then Godspeed!

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Collette2 | Feb 20, 2012, 12:15 PM EST
Eamon Gilmore, stand firm on this and continue to gain respect outside of Ireland preserving the memory of this catastrophic blight handed down to Catholic children. Never give them the chance to claim spiritual benefits on the soil again.

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DrMcHugh | Feb 20, 2012, 12:08 PM EST
As an Irish-American Catholic, I am grateful to see that the present Irish government is not allowing itself to be bullied by the Vatican, nor by Vatican sympathizers. The moral authority of Pope Benedict XVI, in my view, has been lost. It has been betrayed by the Pope's own policies, of allowing the clerical sexual abuse of innocent children and of vulnerable adults to flourish worldwide, with no accountability to civil authorities. It is refreshing to see that this Irish government stands firm on cost control, and sees that having 2 embassies in Rome is not being cost-effective for the people of Ireland. Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Chicago, Illinois, USA

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CelticQueenUSA | Feb 20, 2012, 11:20 AM EST
I like a government that stands by its principles and principals!!

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IrelandNorth | Feb 20, 2012, 08:09 AM EST
The current Irish government's cold war with the Vatican is deliberately stage managed and scripted. It's more about de-catholicising Ireland to facilitate Ulster Orangemen for a reunited Ireland, than about clerical child sexual abuse. It's a belated reformation. Hopefully, it won't be an Irish restoration of the British monarchy.

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