During a Seanad motion to call for the Pope to address the Seanad, I said: I am delighted to contribute to this debate this motion, which was proposed by Senator Norris and seconded by Senator Barrett. The entire concept behind the motion is one which we must support. I am obliged to declare an interest in that I received a Papal knighthood 20 years ago...

While it was not bestowed upon me by Pope Francis, I am biased in respect of this matter. Pope Francis is the first holder of that office during my lifetime who is younger than me. In fact, I am just two weeks older than him. I doubt, however, that he is aware of this fact.

The concept of inviting Pope Francis to address the Seanad provides a real reminder of the power of this House in the context of doing something to change the world. The Pope is the one who is changing the world. Senator Ó Murchú referred to the acorn and the oak. There is little doubt that this man can change and - by his very behaviour - that he has already changed. It is the little things that sometimes change people's attitudes. For example, he telephoned from Rome the man in Argentina who delivered his daily newspaper to cancel his order. This shows both humility and personality. Senators Norris and Barrett referred to the fact that the Pope no longer stays in a grand palace and that, unlike some of his predecessors, he does not wear glamorous clothes. We can learn a great deal from this man.

The current Pope's ability to change is something of which he can be very proud. In the context of global inequity, he recently stated, "New ideologies, characterised by rampant individualism, egocentrism and materialistic consumerism, weaken social bonds, fuelling that "throw away" mentality which leads to contempt for ... the weakest and those considered "useless"". These are the opinions of a man who is used to contemplating matters and who knows that by his very behaviour he can change the world. A great deal can be done on that basis. In light of this country's past experience, we can understand the sentiment expressed by the Pope.

Our Government is to be commended on realising the value of reopening the Irish embassy to the Vatican. It must be remembered that diplomatic links of that nature are all about intelligence and knowledge-gathering. The Vatican has one of the best diplomatic networks in the world. It has been engaging in diplomacy for thousands of years. Cutting off connections with the Vatican is not the way to go. With the reopening of the embassy, we can strengthen co-operation between the two states and work together to tackle issues such as hunger and poverty. In a recent article in The Economist it is stated that "Pope Francis certainly has all the necessary building-blocks to explore the links between culture, inequality and poverty". He is attracting worldwide attention for doing exactly the sort of things we would like to see him doing to attract such attention. He is someone of whom we can be very proud.

I am not sure how we would go about issuing to the Pope an invitation to address this House. I am sure it would have to be done at State level. I hope there is a possibility he would visit Ireland in order to take up such an invitation. Extending to Pope Francis an invitation to visit this country would be an important step on the road to exploring how we can work together on the issues that confront the world. He has shown us one way to do it. Let us see if we can enhance matters by taking our own steps in the same direction. I would welcome the State's involvement in respect of this matter. I hope the support required in respect of Senator Norris's proposal will be forthcoming. As Senator Norris reminded us, the Pope spent some years studying in Dublin when he was a student. I am sure he has good memories of the city and, if so, this might encourage him to pay us a visit. Such a Papal visit would be the second of its kind to this country and we would certainly welcome it very much.

For a full record of the debate, please click here.