The Northern Ireland peace process featured prominently when Pope John Paul met Cardinal Cahal Daly, archbishop emeritus of Armagh, in the Vatican yesterday.
Although he is presiding over an extraordinary consistory of cardinals, the Pope (81)found time to meet Dr Daly (83) for an informal ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the cardinal's priestly ordination.
Speaking to The Irish Times afterwards, Dr Daly said he found the Pope in excellent spirits. "He seemed very alert and certainly less tired than when I met him last summer," he said. "I think he thrives on the presence of his brother bishops.
"He asked me about Ireland, about the peace process, and I reminded him of how important his 1979 visit had been, of how important his Drogheda address had been . . . in leading to the substitution of political dialogue for violence."
Cardinal Daly, who was accompanied by eight former classmates and by a nephew, Father Brian Daly, later addressed the consistory on the spirituality of the Eucharist.
He said the final consistory message, due to be issued tomorrow, will highlight the growing north-south, rich-poor divide and the need for the church to manifest its solidarity with the poor at all times.
Last night both Irish cardinals, Dr Daly and Archbishop Desmond Connell, were guests of honour at a dinner in the Irish College to mark the 60th and 50th anniversaries respectively of their ordination.
This consistory has been addressing the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in the new millennium. On a day when a wide variety of issues was discussed, ranging from the impact of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo to reflections on last year's jubilee celebrations, one of the most intriguing contributions came from US Cardinal Avery Dulles.
He said: "In theory, the Petrine primacy seems like a major obstacle to the ecumenical process yet, historically, the lack of such a primacy has caused serious problems in the case of many other Christian churches."
Cardinal Paul Mayer from Germany commented yesterday: "Dominus Iesus is a vital reference point in the dialogue between our evangelical mission and the ecumenical process."
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, expressed regret that the pan-Christian encounter called for by the Pope during the Holy Year did not come to pass.
One eagerly-awaited address yesterday was that of Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider of Brazil who, however, did not repeat criticism of the Curia voiced earlier this week in a newspaper interview. Rather, Cardinal Lorscheider spoke of the impact of both the jubilee in general and of the celebrated mea culpa day in particular.