Cardinal Brady hails Vatican reopening as triumph for Church-State dialogue

Leading figures in the Catholic Church in Ireland have welcomed the Government's decision to reopen the Embassy to the Holy See, a move depicted by Opposition parties as a Labour "U-turn".

Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, said the decision "reflects positively" on the Church-State "structured dialogue" arrangements, which were introduced by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2007 and have led to periodic meetings since.

“The question of the reopening of the Embassy to the Holy See was one of the issues raised by our delegation at the meeting of that dialogue in Government Buildings last January,” the cardinal said in a statement.

“Based on our shared commitment to justice, peace, eradication of poverty, international development, and the protection of the environment, I now look forward to ongoing and fruitful co-operation between Ireland and the Holy See for the common good.”

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, also welcomed the Government announcement, saying that reopening the embassy on a smaller scale was “a very constructive exercise”.