The Pope yesterday has expressed his joy at the recent announcement made by the Provisional IRA to begin preparations to disarm.

In his regular Sunday address to pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday’s decision by the IRA to end what it calls the “armed struggle” was “beautiful news”.

The IRA announced in its statement on Thursday that it would make its 1997 ceasefire permanent and renounce its use of violence in favour of engaging in peaceful and democratic means to achieving its goal of a unified Ireland.

The Pope, speaking at his summer palace outside Rome, expressed his “satisfaction and hope” at the decision and called on those involved in the peace process to continue on the road to permanent peace in Northern Ireland.

He said: “I encourage everyone to continue to travel down the indicated path and to undertake further steps which will allow the strengthening of mutual trust, promote reconciliation and consolidate negotiations aimed at just and lasting peace.”

Pope Benedict said he was merely reemphasising the late John Paul II’s plea for terrorists to end the violence in a visit to Ireland in 1979.

He said: “It is beautiful news, which contrasts with the sorrowful business to which we are daily witness in so many parts of the world.”

The decision by the IRA was also hailed by Archbishop Sean Brady, the leader of Ireland’s Catholics, as one of the most significant moves by a paramilitary group since the start of the troubles.

The Archbishop said in an address to a congregation in the staunchly Republican estate of Lenadoon, that republicans should support the Northern Ireland police service as well as calling for respectful dialogue between rival sides in the ongoing dispute over parades and processions.

He said: “The statement was potentially the most powerful, significant and welcome move towards genuine freedom in Ireland to have emerged from any paramilitary organisation since the beginning of the Troubles.”

Archbishop Brady predicted the IRA statement will lead to a debate about Irish unity, while expressing the hope that future discourse would now occur in a more constructive and less emotive atmosphere.

The Archbishop of Ireland (Anglican Church) also spoke positively of the IRA decision. “Any moves which will remove the threat of terrorism and violence from the entire community must be welcomed,” he said. “The IRA statement could herald the beginning of a period of transition from violence to peaceful and democratic co-existence.”

Archbishop Eames also urged Irish Republicans to back up their moral imperatives with actions, as well as offering his prayers for the many individuals and families who have lost loved ones through terrorism over the years, saying that they could never be forgotten in the history. More than 3,000 people have been killed by the IRA in its three decades of terrorist activity.