The Pope has praised this year's visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland on the occasion of the appointment of a new British Ambassador to the Holy See at the weekend.
Nigel Baker (45) presented his diplomatic credentials in the Vatican at the weekend and succeeds County Down born Francis Campbell, who had spent six years in the position and now goes to take up a post in Pakistan.
Speaking at the ceremony about the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Britain and Ireland, Pope Benedict XVI said “I was very pleased to note the success of Her Majesty's recent visit to the Republic of Ireland, an important milestone in the process of reconciliation that is happily becoming ever more firmly established in Northern Ireland, despite the unrest which occurred there during this past Summer.”
The Pontiff also stressed that relations between the United Kingdom and the Vatican had been strengthened by his visit to the UK last year.
He said, “The close bond between us was further strengthened last year during my visit to your country, a unique occasion in the course of the shared history of the Holy See and the countries which today compose the United Kingdom.”
He added the highpoint of his visit was without the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman who, the Pontiff said, he held huge admiration. He said that the late Cardinal Newman's insights regarding society are still very relevant today.
Speaking in his daily blog about his meeting with the Pope, Ambassador Baker wrote, “Our conversation touched on many aspects of our relationship including the importance of values in international affairs. This is a very broad mutual agenda, flowing from the visit of the Pope to the United Kingdom last September and the excellent work of this Embassy under my predecessor.”
“We need to talk and engage with each other above all because her Majesty's government and the Holy See have global concerns and interests, from disarmament to development, climate change to conflict resolution. As with any diplomatic relationship we will not always agree. But there are many areas where we can work closely together, and it should be mutually beneficial to do so.”