Pope Benedict indicated at his meeting with the Taoiseach yesterday that he may visit Istanbul, where Orthodox Patriarch Bartholemew resides.
The visit was "on the agenda", Mr Ahern said at a press conference afterwards. Last year, when he was still prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pope expressed opposition to Turkey joining the EU as it was a predominantly Muslim country.
It is believed Patriarch Bartholemew has been experiencing difficulties with the authorities there. The Pope, who had said that improved ecumenical relations would be a major project of his pontificate, is thought to be anxious to help the patriarch in that context also.
On Wednesday it was announced that the Pope had agreed in principle to visit Israel. Next month, in his first visit abroad as Pope, he will attend World Youth Day festivities in Cologne. It will also be his first visit home to Germany since he was elected on April 19th.
The Taoiseach said he didn't know whether Pope Benedict would visit Ireland. That would be discussed in the future, but he understood the pontiff had set this summer aside for reflection. However, should he visit Ireland the Government would be "very supportive," he said.
Meanwhile, the Vatican indicated yesterday that too many Roman Catholics were not taking their religion seriously and that those faithful who received communion and still supported abortion rights were behaving scandalously.
In a working document for a synod of bishops to be held in October, the Vatican reaffirmed a rule that Catholics who divorce and remarry outside the church cannot take communion.
The document on the theme of the Eucharist said many Catholics had lost the sense of the sacred surrounding communion, which the church teaches becomes the body and blood of Christ during the Mass.
One part of the document examines whether Catholics who support abortion rights can receive communion. "Some receive communion while denying the teachings of the church or publicly supporting immoral choices in life, such as abortion, without thinking that they are committing an act of grave personal dishonesty and causing scandal," it said.
"Some Catholics do not understand why it might be a sin to support a political candidate who is openly in favour of abortion or other serious acts against life, justice and peace," it said.
The document lamented what it called "a crisis in the meaning of belonging to the church" and an inadequate understanding of the Catholic teaching that the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is real and not symbolic.
It said an increasingly secularised society had weakened the sense of mystery in the sacrament of communion. Too few Catholics were approaching communion with the "fear and trembling" that the true presence of God warranted.
The taking of communion by divorced Catholics who remarry outside the church had become "a common occurrence in various countries" even though it was officially forbidden.