Turning to the profound changes in Irish society since the last papal visit in 1979, Varadkar said the country was more diverse, less religious and had modernised its laws on divorce, contraception, abortion and same sex marriage, “understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions, and that families come in many different, wonderful forms, including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents, or parents who are divorced”.
The changes meant the time had come “for us to build a new, more mature relationship between church and state in Ireland – a new covenant for the 21st century”.
It would be one “in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place”, he said.