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LAST UPDATE | 19 Oct 2023
Diarmuid Pepper reporting from Rome
PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins held a private audience with Pope Francis this morning in the Vatican as part of his five-day visit to Rome.
President Higgins met with Pope Francis for about a half an hour in the Pontiff’s Library in the Vatican.
Today’s meeting will be the fourth such engagement between President Higgins and Pope Francis, following previous meetings in the Vatican and at Áras an Uachtaráin.
It’s thought that President Higgins was planning discuss a number of issues of shared interest with Pope Francis, including climate change, migration, global poverty, food security, the rights of indigenous people and global peace.
President Higgins has praised the contribution Pope Francis has made to the debate on these issues, particularly within his recent encyclical Laudate Deum.
President Higgins has arrived and will now meet with Pope Francis for a private audience. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/gpq3tTlMQh
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) October 19, 2023
Laudate Deum (Praise God) is described as Pope Francis’ “exhortation to all people of good will on the climate crisis”.
In it, he expresses hope that the forthcoming COP28 climate talks “will allow for a decisive acceleration of energy transition, with effective commitments subject to ongoing monitoring”.
At a reception for the Irish community in the Irish Embassy in Rome on Tuesday, President Higgins looked foward to his meeting with Pope Francis and told the crowd he hoped the message of Laudate Deum is “not lost on global leaders”.
“He is in fact reprimanding the world for bad faith,” said President Higgins.
President Higgins added: “It would be very foolish if people thought that, with the different changes that are taking place in the world, that efforts at transcendence and periods of reflection and recognising the different approaches towards establishing dignity were not important.”
At their meeting this morning, President Higgins will present Pope Francis with a sculpture entitled ‘The Expelled’ by renowned Irish sculptor John Behan RHA.
A key theme in Behan’s work has been displacement of people and emigration, with a strong focus in recent years on depictions of the experiences of refugees around the world.
President Higgins chose to present this piece to Pope Francis in recognition of the work which the Pope has carried out in drawing public attention to the plight of refugees and migrants across the world.
Following this private audience with Pope Francis, President Higgins held a bilateral meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
President Higgins then travelled to Campo Santo Teutonico, a burial site adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica.
President Higgins laid wreath in honour of the late Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, whose work during the Nazi occupation of Rome during World War II saved the lives of thousands of people.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Monsignor O’Flaherty.
President Higgins lays a wreath in honour of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/KvevYuRjTn
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) October 19, 2023
Later this evening, President Higgins will view the exhibition ‘Ireland and the Birth of Europe’ at the Irish Pontifical College, which is a Catholic seminary for the training and education of priests.
This exhibition tells the story of the role played by Irish scholars and missionaries, including Saint Columbanus and his followers, in the shaping of a shared European identity.
President Higgins kicked off his visit to Rome with an address to the opening session of the World Food Forum.
Tomorrow, President Higgins will provide the keynote address at the closing session of the Forum.
President Higgins’ visit to Rome also included a meeting with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, on Tuesday.
- Diarmuid Pepper is reporting from Rome and you can follow on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Diarmuid_9
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So did they win or what?
Fair play to her, my partner gave birth and I couldn’t go to work for a week….
Our bodies were evolved to reproduce from our teenage years onwards, not in our late 30′s and 40′s, it’s one of the reasons C sections are so common now
walk it off and get back in tbe game
“Teenager gives birth to baby in gym toilet and returns to volleyball game”.
This is why China will take over the world. As a nation they exemplify a “can do” attitude and simply refuse to let anything prevent them from “finishing the job”, including in this case, childbirth.
Irish women could learn something from that girls attitude.
She returned to the game because she was terrified of being found out. The poor girl had no one to turn to in a country that is still caught in the dark ages when it comes to women having children outside of marriage. The girl needs sympathy and not smart comments from the male chauvinist brigade.
Tadhg, come back to us when you’ve had a baby. We might take your last line seriously then.
Me ma gave birth to me at 12 and she was home by 5 to cook the dinner, women now a days drag it out with 6 months off work..
She was very young to have a bonny baby, Alfie!
Must have been tough on your ma having a baby when she was only 12
And we even get pain relief ; )
Like a boss
HACK ATM AND BECOME RICH TODAY!!!!
Hello everyone. There is a new way of making cash, although it is illegal but also a smart and easy way of living big. I used to be a barrack girl until i became eager and decided to change my life one way or the other. I got opportunity to register for the militant amnesty through connection thereby taking me out of the country for training in the United States for a period of 3years. To cut the story short, during my training i made some white friends who were geeks and also experts at ATM repairs, programming and execution who taught me various tips and tricks about breaking into an ATM. with my knowledge gained from my white geek friends, i have been able to counterfeit and programme a blank ATM card using various tools and software’s. I have ready-made programmed ATM cards; I am just 29, my family are in USA and i have cash, i have a car, i live in malaysia and i travel all around the world. i do my things on a low-key to avoid suspicion. Some of you will wonder why i am selling this out if truly i am already living large. It is because it is hard task doing it yourself, i wont lie to you, its not easy to hack ATM talk more of to reprogramme the card alone and be able to get 40,000 Kuwaiti dinar each day. It takes days and sometimes weeks. Some of you will want the ready made card to avoid the stress of doing it yourself and i don’t give the ready made card out for free because i spent days trying to make it available for you. on yahoomail, (luciafernando222@gmail.com) for request of the ATM NOTE: the ATM card has no pin, no registered account number. It has no limit for withdrawal and it is untraceable.(luciafernando222@gmail.com)
Well you just killed that thread
This one takes a bit of timing, and a lot of patience: as soon as you see the signs, get your child to the potty/toilet as quickly as you can (you might need to lift them up and run!), and put them on the toilet seat. Sit with him reading or with an iPad or whatever until he goes. Huge applause and reward. Repeat until the connection is made. I have found some good pottytrainingapp http://www.pottytrainingapp.com from searching google. You may try this apps for become a special potty trainer for your childs. Thanks.
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