News that
the Government is to reopen the Irish embassy to the Holy See has been welcomed
by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

The embassy
was closed in 2011 for ‘financial reasons’. A new one-person embassy will
replace it. The embassy will ifocus on development aid which is a
key concern of the Holy See and many of the embassies attached to it.

A statement from the Catholic archdiocese of
Dublin on behalf of Dr Martin said:  “The
Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, who in the past represented the Holy See
in many international development forums, has today welcomed the news that the
Government is to re-open the Irish Embassy to the Vatican. Archbishop Martin,
said re-opening the Embassy on a smaller scale was a
very constructive exercise.

“He acknowledged that the
Government had remained committed to the re-opening of the Embassy when the
economic situation allowed and expressed his appreciation to Mr David Cooney,
who  acted as a non-resident Ambassador to the Holy See in the intervening
period. 

“Archbishop
Martin said that Pope Francis, from the outset of his pontificate, has
dedicated himself to being a strong voice for fighting poverty. The Archbishop
said the Vatican remains an important place of interchange on questions of
global development and he added that a resident Irish Ambassador will enhance
relations between the Vatican and Ireland.”