Pope to receive Taoiseach

POPE Benedict XVI will receive Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in private audience next Thursday, the Government disclosed yesterday.

The audience with Pope Benedict, who has received relatively few political leaders since his inauguration, will take place on Thursday morning in the Vatican.

It will be Mr Ahern’s first private meeting with a Pontiff. However, he did meet the late Pope, John Paul II, but in the company of Archbishop Desmond Connell at the time of his elevation to Cardinal in 2001.

The visit to Rome, which Mr Ahern is said to be anticipating greatly, will include a meeting with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State.

It is expected that the situation in the North, developments in the European Union and other current international issues will feature in the discussions with Cardinal Sodano.

The current state of the peace process is also likely to be touched upon during his audience with Pope Benedict.

Upon Benedict XVI’s election as Pope in April, Mr Ahern described him as a “man of profound learning” who knew only to well the pressures which awaited him in his office.

He said that the “awesome responsibility” that came with occupying the See of Peter had, if anything, been increased by the impact made by his predecessor, John Paul II.

Mr Ahern said he would love to see the new Pope visit Ireland, adding that John Paul II had planned a return visit, before being struck down by his final illness.

The visit comes in the week after the Government approved the initiation of a structured dialogue with the churches and faith communities on the lines of that proposed in the draft EU Constitution Treaty.

The Government decided to proceed, despite the current crisis that has stalled the ratification of the treaty. This, said a Government spokesperson, was in recognition of the valued role of the churches and faith communities in civil society.