Belfast Telegraph
November 3, 2011
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/cardinal-slams-vatican-embassy-move-16072708.html
 |
| Eamon Gilmore has announced the closure of three embassies |
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has criticised a Government decision to close its embassy to the Vatican to save money.
Cardinal Sean Brady said he was profoundly disappointed by the move, which he claimed showed little regard for the important role the Holy See plays in international relations.
Ireland will be left without a resident ambassador to the Vatican for the first time since diplomatic relations were established between the two states in 1929.
Cardinal Brady said: "I hope that, despite this regrettable step, the close and mutually beneficial co-operation between Ireland and the Holy See in the world of diplomacy can continue - based on shared commitment to justice, peace, international development and concern for the common good.
"I look forward to a time when the Government will again appoint a resident ambassador to the Holy See."
Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore said it was with great regret and reluctance that the decision was made to close the embassy to the Vatican, as well as Iran and its representative office in Timor Leste.
The Foreign Affairs Minister denied the move was connected with the recall of the Papal Nuncio from Ireland earlier this year after the publication of clerical abuse reports, but stressed that the Government had to implement cuts to meet its targets under the EU/IMF programme.
It is understood staff in the embassy to Italy in Rome will be transferred to Villa Spada, the Irish-owned embassy in the Vatican in the new year. "While the embassy to the Holy See is one of Ireland's oldest missions, it yields no economic return," Mr Gilmore said.
"The Government believes that Ireland's interests with the Holy See can be sufficiently represented by a non-resident ambassador. The Government will be seeking the agreement of the Holy See to the appointment of a senior diplomat to this position."
Elsewhere, Ireland will close its embassy in Tehran, which opened in 1976, because of a fall in trade volumes. A resident mission it has had in Timor Leste since 2000, headed by a charge d'affaires with the ambassador resident in Singapore, will also shut.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.