Cardinal’s invite rejection may be tied to embassy closure

Fresh controversy linked to the Government’s decision to close its Vatican embassy has erupted, as a senior US cleric has turned down an invitation to a St Patrick’s Day event at which Taoiseach Enda Kenny will speak.

It was confirmed at the weekend Cardinal Francis George of Chicago had declined an invitation to a high-profile event hosted by an Irish-American organisation on Mar 16 which will be attended by Mr Kenny as part of the Taoiseach’s traditional St Patrick’s Day visit to the US.

Although Cardinal George said he was he was otherwise engaged on that date, his non-attendance at the St Patrick’s Day dinner in Chicago hosted by the Irish Fellowship Club is being seen as a snub over the Government’s decision to close its Vatican embassy.

A spokesperson for the cardinal said he had a prior arrangement at a youth retreat at a local high school in Chicago.

The cardinal’s decision is all the more surprising as the dinner is also honouring two Catholic priests including the city’s St Patrick’s Day grand marshal, Fr Clete Kiely.

A columnist in the Chicago Sun Times questioned whether the cardinal had become the latest participant in the “cold war” between Ireland and the Vatican, given his decision to attend what is “widely seen as a lesser event”.

The cardinal also generated criticism last year when he compared gay rights activists to the Ku Klux Klan.

The Taoiseach led the Government’s unprecedented criticism of the Catholic hierarchy last year following the Vatican’s failure to co-operate with the inquiry into clerical sex abuse in the Diocese of Cloyne.

A spokesperson for Mr Kenny said that it accepted the cardinal’s statement that he had a previous engagement.

The spokesperson also pointed out that it is not the first year that Cardinal George had missed the annual dinner.

Fine Gael TD Dan Neville, who has criticised the decision to close the embassy, said it was highly disappointing to hear that the cardinal would not be attending the event.

“It is a bit un-Christian really. I disagreed with the decision to close the Vatican but this move is not helping anyone,” said Mr Neville.

The full overseas St Patrick’s Day for government ministers is expected to be announced later this week.