David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is an excellent idea to have an assessment and a review because it means we can develop opportunities, not just to look at mistakes - I am not sure there have been many mistakes - but also for carrying out the Government's vision in this area.

I find myself in a slightly surprising position because I welcomed the courage displayed by the Government in the closure of the Vatican Embassy, and I still do not understand the reason the Papal Nuncio is regarded de jure as the doyenne of the diplomatic corps. However, to my enormous surprise the Holy Spirit managed the impossible and found among the cardinals appointed by the two previous Popes a man of extraordinary prophetic vision and stature. It would be an appropriate moment to examine the question of the Vatican Embassy, first, because of the man but, second, because of a network of valuable diplomatic contacts there.

When I refer to the Pope himself it is not just a question of the public relations shots, such as seeing him get into a Fiat car. I could not care less about that but I am interested in his thought and in what he says. The Minister would certainly agree with him about the current economic system being unjust at its root and uncaring. He is rather to the left in these areas in terms of the business of financial speculation, the throwaway culture where individual workers are not valued and the talk about excessive clericalism. While urging Christians to avoid hateful generalisations about Islam, the Pope called humbly on Islamic countries to guarantee full religious freedom to Christians. That is a very important development. His approach and the timbre of his words is very interesting and very different from that of his predecessors.