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Arlene Foster won’t be meeting the Pope during his visit to Ireland

Published 16:18 17 Aug 2018 BST

Updated 15:52 21 Aug 2018 BST

Rory Cashin
Arlene Foster won’t be meeting the Pope during his visit to Ireland

Homenews

Turns out she's away with family that weekend.

The DUP have confirmed that the leader of the party will not be accepting the invitation from the Irish government to an address by Pope Francis in Dublin next Saturday. Speaking to JOE, Arlene Foster's constituency office and the DUP press officer announced the following: "Mrs Foster has received an invitation from the Republic of Ireland’s government to an address by Pope Francis in Dublin Castle on Saturday 25th August. "Mrs Foster appreciates the invitation but regretfully will be away with her family at that time. She particularly acknowledges the significance of this event for many Roman Catholics in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland." It has already been announced by the head of Irish Catholic church that it is "expected" that Pope Francis is to meet victims of clerical abuse. Meanwhile, travelling to see The Pope in Dublin is already proving to problematic, as train tickets up for the weekend are almost entirely sold out, and the amount of road closures in place will have the majority of the capital completely shutdown. You can check out his full itinerary here.
Arlene Foster won't be meeting the Pope during his visit to Ireland