Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ireland this
past week has paved the way for Pope Benedict XVI to visit Northern
Ireland, said the Irish Catholic newspaper writer Michael Kelly this week.
Kelly mentions several instances during the Pope's visit to Britain last
year that suggest that he was breaking ground for the Queen's visit to
Ireland this week.
During the state
visit, the Pope constantly referred to Christianity's history "in these
islands."
And after being welcomed by the Queen in Edinburgh, in his
short speech he spoke of the Northern peace process and paid tribute to
the efforts of both the Irish and British governments in the Good Friday
Agreement of 1998.
The queen visiting Ireland could mean that Northern Protestants would be far less hostile to the Pope visiting Northern Ireland.
While
there has been a huge focus on whether or not Benedict XVI will travel
to Dublin next June to participate in the International Eucharistic
Congress, the bigger question, says Kelly, is the prospect of the Pope
traveling to the North and completing the 1979 pilgrimage of Blessed
Pope John Paul II, who was unable to visit the region due to the civil
conflict in the North.
A visit to the North by Pope Benedict would certainly be yet another powerful symbol of peace and reconciliation.