Holy See–Ireland relations

Holy See–Ireland relations

Holy See	Ireland

Holy See–Ireland relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and Ireland. The majority of Irish people claim to be Roman Catholic, and indicate this on the census form. However, views on actual church dogma both on social and spiritual matters varies significantly, and weekly mass attendance is below 40%. The Holy See has an Apostolic Nunciature in Dublin.

Relations were strained in the 2000s after revelations of sex abuse cases in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Ireland has had links with the Holy See since at least the time of Saint Patrick. Patrick was sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine I. Relations between Ireland and the Holy See continued through the appointment of bishops, and papal legates were sent to preside over reforming synods, such as the Synod of Kells in 1152. The Synod of Cashel (1172) continued this process after the Norman conquest. The Pontifical Irish College, the Roman Catholic seminary for the training and education of priests in Rome, was founded in 1628. Irish Catholics were the main promoters of Catholic emancipation that was achieved in 1829 in what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. From 1850 the Irish Church followed Ultramontanism under Cardinal Cullen and it became a conservative element in the Irish nationalist movement.

During the Irish War of Independence (1919–21) the Irish Republic hoped for recognition from the Holy See, which was not forthcoming. A memorandum from envoy Sean T O'Kelly to Pope Benedict XV made the case for Vatican recognition of the Republic. The United Kingdom envoy at that time was the count de Salis, a Catholic landowner in County Limerick who was not a supporter of Irish nationalism.

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