Kenny leads tributes despite outburst over Cloyne Report

Taoiseach Enda Kenny wished the Pope well in his retirement despite a stormy relationship with the Vatican.

Mr Kenny, whose attack on the “narcissism” of Church hierarchy in 2011 caused much comment, used the resignation to praise the pontiff’s legacy.

The warm remarks were in pointed contrast to a strongly-worded response to the Cloyne Report into child abuse by Catholic priests when Mr Kenny told the Dáil: “For the first time in Ireland, a report into child sexual abuse exposes an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic — as little as three years ago, not three decades ago.