A Junior Government Minster has become the latest politician to lend her support to a growing campaign to reopen the Irish embassy in the Vatican. The embassy was closed last year for what were given as, “economic reasons” by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore.
The Minister for European Affairs, Ms Lucinda Creighton TD was among a group of fifty-five TD's and 20 Senators from across party lines who met with campaigners applying pressure on the Government to re-open the embassy in the Holy See.
The group, known as Ireland, Stand up, has sent thousands of postcards to the Government in its bid to overturn the closure. Speaking after the meeting, Minister Creighton said that she would do all she could to help efforts to keep the embassy open.
“I think it's important that the Government is aware that there is a very strong and important and sizeable amount of people who are disappointed with the decision and want to see it overturned and who clearly aren't happy.”
She added, “I'm very much committed to ensuring that a point in the future when we're in a position to do it, that we will re-open our embassy to the Holy See.”
On the embassy's closure and what it means for people she said, “It’s very important, not just for Catholics in Ireland, but for the Department of Foreign Affairs strategy. Our foreign policy agenda is at one with the Vatican. When it comes to the priorities for us, human rights, hunger, all of these freedoms that we promote all over the world, particularly in Africa, we do it hand in hand, side by side with the Vatican."
”For that reason, from a strictly foreign affairs perspective, I think it would be very desirable in the future to step up our relations with the Vatican again. Now is obviously not going to be possible, but certainly in due course. At that point, I'll certainly be one of the loud voices calling for it to happen.”