When the draft new constitution was published, the "Irish Independent" described it as one of Mr. de Valera's "finest tributes to his predecessors". "The Irish Times" criticised the constitution's assertion of a territorial claim on Northern Ireland, and the absence in its text of any reference to the British Commonwealth. The London-based "Daily Telegraph" included in its criticism the special position assigned to the Church of Rome under the new constitution. "The Sunday Times" concluded it would only help to "perpetuate division" between Dublin and Belfast. "The Irish Catholic" concluded it was a "noble document in harmony with papal teachings".