Now that the Irish Government is to reopen its Vatican embassy the search is on for an ambassador to live in it.It’s been suggested that the former Irish President, Mary McAleese, would be ideal for the post. She speaks fluent Italian, spends a lot of time in Rome and is a canon lawyer. She has also been a trenchant critic of Rome’s centralising tendencies and so would be in tune with Pope Francis’ reform agenda.However, the Irish Government usually avoids political appointments for its missions and so the more likely candidates are career diplomats. One well-placed source told us that the actual ambassador might remain in Ireland with a more junior diplomat heading up the mission in Rome. Given the Irish Government’s objective to engage with Pope Francis’ wo