DUP First Minister Arlene Foster has said she would meet Pope Francis were he to visit Northern Ireland in 2018 as a head of state.
Meanwhile, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin said he was in no doubt the pope would cross the Border during his trip.
Ms Foster’s spokesman said “any potential visit to Northern Ireland by the pope is a matter for the foreign and commonwealth office in London”.
“Were the pope to visit Northern Ireland in his capacity as head of state, then the First Minister would meet him,” he said.
Ahead of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Ireland in 1979 there was great speculation that he would visit the North, but paramilitary violence and political tensions ruled out the chance of the pontiff crossing the Border.
Speaking in Belfast in the wake of the visit announcement, Mr McGuinness said he believed there was “no prospect of the pope coming to Ireland and not coming to the north of Ireland”.
Rev Trevor Gribben, clerk of the general assembly and general secretary of the Presbyterian church in Ireland, said “while the Vatican have yet to confirm the visit, should Pope Francis come to Ireland, as with any visitor to these shores, he would be most welcome”.
Very excited
“I am sure that many, many Roman Catholics both south and north of the Border will be very excited and encouraged by the news that Pope Francis is likely to attend the 2018 gathering of the World Meeting of Families,” said Rev Gribben. “If this materialises I would hope that all other people on this island will want to join with our fellow citizens in welcoming the leader of their church to Ireland.”
He said that should the pope visit the North, “I would trust that all in our community would take the opportunity to show due respect to such a visit”.
“That will, indeed, be a sign that as a society we are continuing to develop into the kind of country that we all want Northern Ireland to be.”
SDLP North Belfast Assembly member Nichola Mallon, who as former lord mayor welcomed Queen Elizabeth to Belfast, said a “papal visit to the North will make an important contribution to the process of healing and reconciliation across the island”.
“Pope Francis’s papacy has been characterised by a steadfast focus on challenging poverty, exclusion and social injustice, and a concern more about the plight of the vulnerable across the world than with the auspices of his position or his institution. That should be an example to us all.”
