As it is for Church, State’s actions must speak louder than words

Leo Varadkar’s speech on Saturday was a powerful affirmation of what a modern Ireland must look like, says Fergus Finlay.

DEAR Taoiseach, I’m writing, first of all, to thank you. As a citizen — and I know I’m not alone in this — I was proud of the speech you made in front of Pope Francis on Saturday. Proud of its tone, and its content.

I will admit that I became a bit impatient, waiting for you to get to the meat of the speech, and I was beginning to wonder at one point if you were going to cop out of some of the things that needed to be said, directly and honestly.