Kenny to join European leaders to meet Pope Benedict in Rome

IRELAND
Irish Times

HARRY McGEE, Political Correspondent

TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny will be among a group of European political leaders who will meet Pope Benedict in Rome on Saturday.

Mr Kenny will visit the pope’s residence at Castel Gandolfo on Saturday afternoon with a small group of prime ministers and presidents drawn from other EU countries.

The visit will occur during the course of a two-day meeting of the Centrist Democrats International group hosted by Italian prime minister Mario Monti. The group is affiliated with the European People’s Party, of which Fine Gael is a member.

The visit will draw attention because it will represent the first meeting of the pope and the Taoiseach since Mr Kenny’s speech in the Dáil in July 2011 that severely castigated the Vatican for its inaction in dealing with the issue of child abuse in Ireland.

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