The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope John Paul II yesterday, spoke forcefully about the contribution of the Catholic Church in the development of modern Ireland and its profile in the international community.
Speaking passionately after the honour bestowed on him, he told a distinguished audience at the Irish College in Rome, including the Taoiseach, that there were those in Ireland who believed "the church is to be forgotten as though it never existed".
The church was no longer recognised by the Ireland we had today, he said. However, he asserted that Ireland was not Ireland without the church. He said: "Ireland is European because of Rome. Because of the church, Ireland is a worldwide community." Its recent success in winning a seat on the UN Security Council had been helped by the work of Irish missionaries around the world, he suggested.
Addressing the Taoiseach directly, Cardinal Connell said that Ireland had not closed in on itself because of the church. It had kept Ireland open.
That would not have been the case if "another influence" had been allowed to dominate, he suggested, without elaborating.
