Kilkee, February 7th, 1865.
To the Editors of the Irish Ecclesiastical Record.
Gentlemen,
Be pleased to allow me to bring under your notice a slight mistake noticeable in the January issue of yourRecord, and in doing so I may be permitted to express my great satisfaction, and that of all those who spoke to me on the subject, with the interesting and varied matter in yourRecord. Your high character, not to speak of stronger reasons, will secure for your statements a ready acceptance with Catholics, and this, coupled with the very faultless character of your extensively read periodical, renders me anxious to have it the medium of correction to its own mistakes, however slight. The learned writer on the Irish sees of the sixteenth century, speaking of the vicissitudes of Clonmacnois, and of its subjection to the metropolitical see of Tuam, says, in p. 158 of theRecord: "This change probably took place during the episcopate of Bishop Symon of the Order of St. Dominick, who, though omitted in the lists of Ware and De Burgo, was appointed to the see on the death of Dr. Henry in 1349". Now, Symon was never Bishop of Clonmacnois. Indeed, as remarked by the learned writer in theRecord, Theiner gives, in page 291, the bull of his appointment. But the appointment was null, as the see was not vacant by the death of Dr. Henry. Hence, by looking to the next page of Theiner, you will see how good Pope Clement VI. acknowledges and rectifies the mistake by appointing Symon to the see of Kildare, then vacant. The report of Dr. Henry's death was unfounded; therefore, as the bull of Pope Clement declares, Symon was not, and in the circumstances could not have been, Bishop of Clonmacnois. "Cum autem sicut postea vera relatio ad nos perduxit", etc., the Pope says, addressing Symon, "tu nullius Ecclesiae remansisti".
I remain, Gentlemen,Your obedient servant,
Sylvester Malone.
[We feel much obliged to our learned and reverend correspondent for the interest he takes in the success and the accuracy of theRecord, and we beg to assure him that the greatest attention will be paid to every communication and suggestion from him, or from any other promoter of the study of Irish ecclesiastical literature or antiquities. In publishing theRecord, our only desire is to illustrate and uphold truth, and thus to promote the interests of religion.
We regret that, our colleague who treated of the See of Clonmacnoise in the January number being at present absent, we have not been able to communicate to him the remarks contained in the above letter; we can therefore only state that, as he was not treating of the fourteenth century, he referred only incidentally to the appointment of Bishop Symon in order to fix the period at which a change had been "probably" effected in a matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction connected with the See of Clonmacnoise, and that he had no intention of giving the history of the bishops of that diocese, or of entering into a question which was not connected with his subject; so that, having fixed the date in question with accuracy—as he does by referring to the appointment of Bishop Symon to Clonmacnoise, as given by Theiner—it did not appear necessary for him to proceed farther.
However that may be, we can safely promise in the name of our colleague, that he will be happy to correct any mistake into which he may have fallen. He will be able to do so the more readily because he has been requested to publish in a separate volume all he has written on the succession of the Bishops in the various Sees of Ireland. When corrected and completed, these articles will be a valuable accession to our ecclesiastical history, whilst they will supply a triumphant answer to an assertion of the learned Dr. Todd in the preface to hisLife of St. Patrick, viz.: that the original Irish Church, having merged into the Church of the English Pale, adopted the Reformation in the sixteenth century. That assertion undoubtedly was made hastily and without sufficient reflection. Any one who reads the articles of theRecordwill find that it has no foundation in fact. Penal laws, indeed, and brute force were employed to propagate the Reformation in Ireland, but the true faith was so deeply rooted in the minds of the clergy and laity of the "original Irish Church" that all the powers of Hell could not exterminate it.
As to Bishop Symon, mentioned by our correspondent, it appears that he was appointed in 1349 by Clement VI. to Derry, not to Kildare. According to Ware, there was no vacancy in that year in this last see, as it was occupied from 1334 to 1365 by Richard Hulot and Thomas Giffard. But in the list of theBishops of Derry given by Ware, a Bishop Symon, of some order of friars, is mentioned as filling that see in 1367 and 1369. The historian states that he could not discover to what religious order that prelate belonged, or what was the date of his consecration. The valuable documents published by the Archivist of the Vatican, F. Theiner, show that Bishop Symon was of the Order of St. Dominick, that he was consecrated by Talleyrand, Bishop of Albano, that he was appointed to Derry in 1349, and that he succeeded a Bishop Maurice who was unknown to Ware. A copy of the brief appointing Bishop Symon to Derry, was sent to the Archbishop of Armagh, as appears from Theiner, p. 292. This shows that theEcclesia Darensisconferred on Bishop Symon belonged to the province of Armagh. Kildare, indeed, was called by the same name, but it belonged to a different province. Theiner gives the appointment of a Bishop of Kildare at page 261, in which reference is made to his metropolitan of Dublin. At page 64Ecclesia Darensisis mentioned again, but it is stated to belong to the metropolitan of Armagh. Thus, although Derry and Kildare went by the same name, it is not difficult to determine to which see the papal Bulls regarding them belong, because mention is generally made of the metropolitan to whose suffragan the document is addressed.]
LETTER OF THE IRISH BISHOPS TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY GRATTAN, M.P.
We publish the following letter, addressed by the Irish Bishops to Mr. Grattan in the year 1795. It shows how anxious those Prelates always were to unite education and religion, and to preserve the sources of knowledge from being contaminated by error and infidelity.
Sir,
We, the under-written Roman Catholic prelates of Ireland, having, on behalf of ourselves and absent brethren, already expressed our wants and wishes respecting clerical education, in the minutes submitted to your revision and correction, take the liberty at present to explain some of them more particularly, in order to remove misapprehensions which may furnish an occasion of perplexity or equivocation. As the principle of our application to parliament seems universallyadmitted, we shall confine ourselves to those parts only of the detail to which, as we hear, objections have been made.
It is said, that as our plan extends to the education of the laity, the appointment of professors to lecture on philosophy, mathematics, rhetoric, and the languages, which are common to clergy and laity, should not be vested in the bishops only, because these branches of learning are not intimately connected with religion and morality, and much less with the peculiar duties of ecclesiastics.
We cannot subscribe to this position, as experience has convinced us of the fatal impressions made on youth in all times and places, particularly in France, by infidel, seditious, or immoral professors even of grammar, and proved the necessity of scrupulous attention to the principles and conduct of every teacher previous to his admission into any seminary or school. It is always more advisable to prevent evil in this manner, than punish the whisperers of atheism and Jacobinism by a controlling power in the bishops to expel them. Moreover, the exercise of this control will appear odious to many, must occasion clamour, and would frequently excite disputes between the bishops and lay friends of those unworthy professors or lecturers.
These observations, as you will perceive, are grounded on a supposition that the intended colleges are to be regulated on the precise plan presented to your consideration. We extended it togeneral instructionon the suggestion of our zealous and patriot agent at London, who constantly assured us, that it was the earnest wish of the Duke of Portland, Earl Fitzwilliam, Mr. Burke, and others, that the laity should not be excluded from the benefit of public instruction in the proposed colleges.
It appears from our printed memorial to Lord Westmoreland, of which we enclose a copy, that our original views were confined to clerical education only.
This continues to be the great object of our anxious wishes and solicitude; and as no one, to our knowledge, controverts the exclusive competency of the bishops to superintend and regulate it, we are perfectly satisfied to arrange the education of persons not destined for the sacred ministry on another proper plan, to be hereafter concerted.
As four hundredclericalstudents are absolutely necessary to preserve the succession of Roman Catholic Clergy in this kingdom, we have, after very mature deliberation, judged it expedient to establish one house in each province for their education. It is needless now to enter into a detail of our motives. They are many and weighty. We shall mention one. By our having a college in each province, the opulent and religious Catholics will be more strongly excited to grant donations to an establishment in their own neighbourhood, than they would be to others at a great distance, which many of them may view with jealousy, and feel hurt at not being equally accommodated.
We confidently hope that these four colleges will equally partake of the national bounty in whatever time it may be granted by Parliament.It never was our wish or intention that you should introduce our plan of education or any part of it into Parliament, until the Bill on general Emancipation shall be disposed of, as we always considered the success of this to depend in a great measure on that of the other.
We understand that the appointment by us of a Medical and Chymical Lecturer is objected to from our incompetency to judge of his knowledge in these sciences.
It was our design to consult learned professional men on the choice of such lecturers, after ascertaining their principles and conduct; neither did this measure of a Chymical or Medical Professor originate with us. It was likewise suggested by our agent at London to Government from motives of humanity. We shall most readily give up that point, if required, as it made no part of our own plan.
With the firmest reliance on your brilliant exertions in promoting the measure we have so much at heart for the advantage of society in this kingdom, and with due deference to your instructions in conducting it on our parts, we have the honour to remain, etc.
Dublin, 2nd February, 1795.
Signed by eighteen Prelates.
✠John Thomas Troy, of Dublin.✠Thomas Bray, of Cashel.✠Francis Moylan, of Cork.✠Gerard Teahan, of Kerry.✠Wm. Coppinger, of Cloyne and Ross.✠James Caulfield, of Ferns.✠Daniel Delany, of Kildare and Leighlin.✠Dominick Bellew, of Killala.✠Edmund Trench, of Elphin.✠Richard O'Reilly, of Armagh.✠Boetius Egan, of Tuam.✠P. J. Plunkett, of Meath.✠Hugh O'Reilly, of Clogher.✠Matt. Lennan, of Dromore.✠John Cruise, of Ardagh.✠M'Mullen, of Down and Connor.✠Charles O'Reilly, Coadjutor of Kilmore.✠Dillon, Coadjutor of Kilfenora and Kilmacduagh.
LETTER OF CARDINAL ANTONELLI TO THE ARCHBISHOPS OF IRELAND IN 1791 REGARDING THE CHANGE IN THE CONSECRATION OATH OF BISHOPS.
Per-illustres Et Reverendissimi Domini Uti Fratres,
Ex literis vestris sub die 17 Novembris anni 1789 scriptis summopere Vos commoveri intelleximus, quod cum in lucem prodierit quidam libellus a Pseudo-Episcopo Cloynensi conscriptus,De praesenti Statu Ecclesiae, occasionem inde ceperint obtrectatores nostri, veteris calumniae adversus Catholicam Religionem acrius refricandae nullo scilicet, modo posse hanc, salva Regum, ac Rerumpublicarum incolumitate, consistere. Cum enim, inquiunt, Romanus Pontifex omnium Catholicorum Pater ac Magister sit, ac tanta praeditus auctoritate, ut alienorum Regnorum subditos a fide, ac Sacramento Regibus ac principibus praestito relaxare possit, eumdem facili negotio turbas ciere, ac publicae regnorum tranquillitati nocere posse propugnant.
Miramur his vos querelis turbari potuisse, cum praesertim praeclarissimus iste Frater vester, et consors Apostolici muneris Archiepiscopus Caselliensis, aliique strenui jurium Apostolicae Sedis Defensores maledica ista convicia egregiis scriptis refutarint plane ac diluerint. Quid igitur proderit, novam nunc quemadmodum petitis, edi ab hac Apostolica Sede declarationem, ut sua jura tueatur, explicet, atque a criminationibus vindicet? Nihil hoc esset aliud, quam adversus ipsammet Catholicam Fidem novos excitare hostes. Ea enim est hujus nostri temporis improborum hominum mens, atque animus, ut dum certare se simulant adversus Apostolicae Sedis jura, contra ipsam tamen Fidem intentant aciem, eamque unitatem, quam Catholicae universi Orbis Ecclesiae cum Apostolica Petri Cathedra firmissime retinent, convellere, ac labefactare conantur.
Itaque ad hujusmodi conatus nolite expavescere; jam enim toties eorum calumniae repulsae sunt, ut nihil nunc agant, quam vetera ut nova proponere, instaurare disjecta, detecta retexere. Probe jam noverat Sanctissimus ille, nec sapientia minus, quam pietatis laude clarissimus Antistes Franciscus Salesius, nonnisi ad ciendas turbas, atque ad imbecilles animos commovendos, agitari haec passim, ac in vulgus jactari. Qua de re luculentissimum ille testimonium edidit epistola 764, tom. 6, edit. Parisien., an. 1758; quam vobis, non perlegendam modo, sed ut providam adhibendae moderationis normam, prae oculis habendam valde consulimus. Eodem exemplo, vos quoque insidias detegite, et populos vestrae solicitudini commissos docete, quae recta sunt, ut a laqueis, quos ante pedes struunt, declinare discant, ne in transversum agantur. Id sane cum vestra pietate dignum, tum etiam a vestra auctoritate profectum, multo magis Fidelium vestrae Pastorali curae concreditorum mentibus insidebit atque ab obtrectatorum calumniis vindicabit. Minime enim vobis pro vestra doctrina ignotum esse arbitramur, quaenam sint Apostolicae Sedisjura, quibusque argumentis propugnare possint. In hac causa illud accuratissime est distinguendum, quae sibi jure optimo vindicet Apostolica Sedes ab iis, quae ad inferendam calumniam a Novatoribus hujus saeculi eidem affiguntur. Nunquam Romana Sedes docuit haeterodoxis fidem non esse servandam, violari quacumque ex causa posse juramentum, Regibus a Catholica communione disjunctis praestitum; Pontifici Romano licere temporalia eorum jura, ac dominia invadere. Horrendum vero, ac detestabile facinus etiam apud nos est, si quis unquam, atque etiam religionis praetextu in Regum ac Principum vitam audeat quidpiam, aut moliatur. Non haec consectaria sunt ejus auctoritatis, qua valeat Romanus Pontifex in extremo religionis discrimine, jurisjurandi vinculum solvere, quam tamen satis vobis compertum est nec inter fidei dogmata recenseri, nec pro haereticis haberi, qui ab ea dissentiunt.
Verum neque etiam in nullo pretio haberi voluit postulationes vestras Sanctissimus Pontifex Pius VI. ut enim omnis carpendi, ac calumniandi eradicetur occasio, quam quidam, ut scribitis, sumunt ex iis verbis formulae juramenti obedientiae Apostolicae Sedi praestandae et ab Episcopis in eorum consecratione adhibendae,Haereticos pro posse persequar et impugnabo, et quam quasi classicum ad bellum iis indicendum, et tamquam hostes persequendos, atque impugnandos malevole interpretantur, non intelligentes, eam persecutionem, atque impugnationem, quam contra haereticos Episcopi suscipiunt, ad illud studium, ac conatum referri, quo eos ad saniorem mentem perducere, ac Ecclesiae Catholicae reconciliare nituntur, Sanctitas Sua benigne annuit, ut loco precedentis juramenti formulae, altera subrogetur quae ab Archiepiscopo Mohiloviensi, tota plaudente Petropolitana Aula, ipsaque Imperatrice adstante palam perlecta est, quamque his litteris alligatam ad vos transmittimus.
Ceterum Praesules Amplissimi, qui isthic agitis excubias Domini florentissimasque istas Hiberniae Ecclesias, divina gratia adspirante ex Apostolice Sedis gratia administrandas suscepistis, huic Petri Cathedra in qua Dominus posuit verbum veritatis, firmiter adhaerete, praedicate Evangelium Christi in omni patientia, ac doctrina: in omnibus praebete vosmetipsos exemplum bonorum operum, in doctrina, in integritate, in gravitate, verbum sanum, irreprehensibile. Haec si feceritis, quemadmodum jam fecisse, et deinceps incensius facturos non dubitamus, non modo vestra virtute, ac constantia male contextas calumnias propulsabitis, verum etiam quiex adverso sunt verebuntur, nihil habentes malum dicere de vobis.
Enim vero, quis est, cui non perspicua sint illa, quae Ecclesia Romana omnium mater et magistra de praestanda a subditis saeculi potestatibus obedientia, praedicat, docet, ac praecipit?
Ab ipso nascentis Ecclesiae exordio Apostolorum Princeps B. Petrus, Fideles instruens, ita eos hortabatur—Subjecti estote omni humanae creaturae propter Deum: sive Regi, quasi praecellenti, sive Ducibus, tamquam ab eo missis ad vindictam malefactorum, laudem vero bonorum, quia sic est voluntas Dei, ut benefacientes obtumescere faciatis imprudentium hominum ignorantiam.His praeceptis instituta CatholicaEcclesia, quum Gentiles furentibus odiis adversus Christianos, tamquam Imperii hostes, debacharentur, praeclarissimi Christiani nominis defensores respondebant—Precantes(Tertul.In Apologet., c. 30)sumus omnes semper pro omnibus Imperatoribus, vitam illis prolixam, imperium securum, Domum tutam, exercitum fortem, senatum fidelem, populum probum, Orbem quietum—Id ipsum saepius Romani Pontifices Petri successores inculcare non destiterunt, praesertim ad missionarios, ne ulla Catholicae fidei cultoribus, ab hostibus Christiani nominis crearetur invidia.
Praeclarissima in hanc rem veterum Romanorum Pontificum monumenta proferre pretermittimus, quae vos ipsi non ignoratis. Verum nuperrimum sapientissimi Pontificis Benedicti XIV. monitum vobis in memoriam revocare arbitramur, qui in iis regulis, quas pro Missionibus Anglicanis observandas proposuit, quaeque vobis etiam communes sunt, ita inquit—Sedulo incumbant Vicarii Apostolici, ut missionarii saeculares probe honesteque in omnibus se gerant, quo aliis bono exemplo sint, et in primis sacris officiis celebrandis, opportunisque institutionibus populo tradendis, atque infirmis opera sua sublevandis praesto sint, ut a publicis otiosorum coetibus, et cauponis omnimode caveant ... at potissimum ipsimet vicarii, omni qua possunt ratione, severe tamen illos puniant, qui de publico regimine cum honore sermonem non haberent.
Testis autem ipsamet Anglia esse potest, quam alte istius modi monita in Catholicorum animis radicitus egerint. In nupero enim, qua tota fere America conflagravit bello, cum florentissimae Provinciae, in quibus universa fere gens a Catholica Ecclesia disjuncta immoratur, Magnae Britanniae Regis imperium abjecissent, sola Canadensis Provincia, quae Catholicis pene innumeris constat, quamquam callidis artibus tentata, atque etiam aviti Gallorum dominii haud immemor, in obsequio tamen Anglorum perstitit fidelissime. Haec vos, egregii Antistites, crebris usurpate sermonibus, haec Episcopis Suffraganeis vestris saepius in memoriam revocate. Cum ad populum pro concione verba facitis, iterum, atque iterum illum admonete,omnes honorare,fraternitatem diligere,Deum timere,Regem honorificare. Quae quidem Christiani hominis officia cum in omni Regno, atque imperio colenda sunt, tum maxime in isto vestro Britannico, in quo Regis sapientissimi, aliorumque praeclarissimorum Regni procerum ea est in Catholicos voluntas, ut non asperum, ac grave jugum imponant cervicibus vestris, sed leni, ac blando regimine ipsi etiam Catholici utantur. Hanc agendi rationem si unanimes retinueritis, si omnia vestra in charitate fiant, si id unum respexeritis in regenda plebe Domini, salutem nimirum animarum; verebuntur (iterum confirmamus), adversarii quidpiam dicere de vobis, ultroque fatebuntur, Catholicam fidem non modo ad beatam vitam assequendam, sed etiam (Epis. 138) ut B. Augustinus inquit in epistola ad Marcellinum, ad terrenae hujus Civitatis firmissimam pacem, atque ad Regnorum columen, ac praesidium tutissimum a caelo esse delapsam:qui doctrinam Christi, verba sunt S. Doctoris,adversum dicunt esse Reipublicae dent exercitum talem, quales doctrina Christi essemilites jussit, dent tales provinciales, tales maritos, tales conjuges, tales parentes, tales filios, tales dominos, tales servos, tales reges, tales judices, tales denique debitorum redditores, et exactores ipsius fisci, quales esse praecipit doctrina Christiana, et audeant eam dicere adversam esse Reipublicae, imo vero non dubitent eam confiteri magnam, si ei obtemperetur, salutem esse Reipublicae. Hujus porro salutaris doctrinae constantem, ac firmam integritatem nonnisi in Catholica Societate consistere, ac vigere, quae videlicet communione cum Romana Sede velut sacro unitatis vinculo divinitus adstricta per totum Orbem diffunditur, ac sustentatur, idem S. Doctor, caeterique unanimi consensu Ecclesiae Patres invictis plane argumentis apertissimè demonstrant. Deus Opt. Max. Vos incolumes diutissime servet quemadmodum enixe optamus pro summo nostro erga vos studio ac voluntate. Valete.
Amplit. Vestrarum. Romae 23 Junii 1791.
Uti Frater Studiosissimus.L. Card. Antonellus, Praef.
A. Archiep. Adven. Secretarius.
Dominis Archiepiscopis Regnis Hiberniae.
RESCRIPT PERMITTING A LOW MASS DE REQUIEM TO BE SAID EVEN ON DOUBLESPRAESENTE CADAVERE.
Permissio legendi Missam de Requiem in Festis dupl.
Beatissime Pater,
Vicarii Apostolici Angliae atque eorum nomine Nicolaus Wiseman, Episcopus Melipotamensis et in districtu, centrali vicarii Apostolici coadjutor, ad pedes Sanctitatis Tuae provoluti humillime supplicant ut benigne dignetur concedere, indultum in Scotia jam existens ut scilicet in eis locis in quibus ob Sacerdotum inopiam missa cantari non possit, legi possint etiam in festis duplicibus missae privataede Requiempraesente cadavere. Quare, etc.
Ex audientia Sanctissimi habita die 7 Martii 1847.
Sanctissimus Dominus Noster Pius divina providenta PP. IX. referente me infrascripto Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide Secretario, perpensis expositis indultum jam alias concessum Vicariatibus Apostolicis Scotiae, benigne extendit ad omnes vicariatus Apostolicos Angliae servatis in reliquis tenore ac forma indulti memorati Contrariis quibuscunque non obstantibus.
Datum Romae, ex aedib. dic. Sac. Congregationis die et anno quibus supra.
Gratis sine ulla omnino solutione quocunque titulo,Joannes Arch. Thessalonicensis, Secretarius.
Loco✠Sigilli.
Beatissime Pater,
Episcopi Hiberniae, ad pedes Beatitudinis Tuae provoluti, humillime supplicant ut facultatem concedere digneris, qua, in iis locis in quibus ob Sacerdotum inopiam Missa solemnis celebrari non possit, legi possint etiam in festis duplicibus Missae Privataede Requiempraesente cadavere.
Quare, etc.
Ex audientia Sanctissimi habita die 29 Junii 1862.
Sanctissimus Dominus Noster Pius Divina Providentia Papa IX. referente me infrascripto S. Congregationis de Propaganda Fide Secretario benigne annuit pro gratia juxta preces, exceptis duplicibus primae vel secundae classis, festis de praecepto servandis, feriis, vigiliis, et octavis privilegiatis.
Datum Romae ex aedibus dictae S. Congnis. die et anno praedictis.
Gratis sine ulla solutione quovis titulo.
H. CapaltiSecretarius.
Vetera Monumenta Hibernorum et Scotorum Historiam Illustrantia; quae ex Vaticanis, Neapolis, ac Florentiae Tabulis deprompsit et ordine chronologico disposuitAugustinus Theiner, etc. Ab Honorio Pp. III. usque ad Paulum Pp. III. 1216-1547. Romae, Typis Vaticanis, 1864.
When first we introduced to the notice of our readers Mgr. Theiner'sVetera Monumenta, we promised to make early return to the subject, and to furnish some account of the treasures of ecclesiastical history contained therein. That promise we now set ourselves to fulfil. The chief difficulty in the way of our present undertaking is created by the rich superabundance of the varied materials which Mgr. Theiner's industry has reunited and given to the world. A collection of one thousand and sixty-four documents, in which are registered the shifting phases of most of the important events in Church and State in Ireland and Scotland which occupied the attention of thirty-seven Roman Pontiffs, from 1216 to 1547, offers to research so vast a field, and so boundless, that we may well be pardoned if we feel puzzled where to begin. Our attention is, however, arrested on the very threshold of the work by a question than which few others are more interesting to Irishmen; namely, what position did the Roman Pontiffs take up in the questions between Ireland and England at the beginning of the thirteenthcentury? Did they, as has often been alleged, leave unreproved the iniquities perpetrated in this country by the English, and, forgetful of their own proper duties as Fathers of Christendom, did they shut their heart against the cries wrung by oppression from a persecuted race? or did they, on the contrary, stand forth in defence of the weak against the strong, and here, as everywhere else, with apostolic justice, judge the poor of the people, and save the children of the poor, and humble the oppressor? The documents published in the first pages of the work under notice supply us with materials to answer this question in the sense most favourable to the Apostolic See. An examination of these documents shall form the subject of our present notice.
Before we enter upon the question we have selected, the dedication of the book claims from us some notice, and much gratitude towards the author. The work is dedicated to Archbishop Cullen, to whose frequent conversations on Ireland, during pleasant summer walks with the author in the neighbourhood of Tivoli, and to whose requests, oft repeated in after days, Mgr. Theiner declares his collection of Irish ecclesiastical documents to be due. He tells us, moreover, that the Archbishop's words found him a willing labourer for the sake of Ireland; deep feelings of admiration and compassion had long since touched his heart, and won his pen to the cause of that stricken nation. "Who can sufficiently admire", asks he, "that almost incredible piety and unflinching hereditary constancy in the profession of the Catholic faith, in which, from the earliest times, the Irish have been so firmly rooted that no assaults could ever weaken or shake them, even though they had to struggle against tyrannical laws, or the violence and cunning of perverse men? How glorious a thing this is, all history is the witness; witnesses are our ancestors and ourselves; witnesses are all the nations of Europe, who with one accord proclaim the Irish nation a spectacle of fortitude, so that among all Christian peoples it is deservedly styled a nation of martyrs".
The troubles that clouded the early years of the reign of the youthful King Henry III. were watched with anxiety by Honorius III. In a letter to the Archbishop of Dublin (Theiner, n. 4, p. 2), that Pontiff enumerates the reasons why he felt so much solicitude for the welfare of the English monarch. The king was a vassal of the Roman Church, and a ward of the same; he had taken the Cross, and the Pope was apprehensive of aught that could impede the Crusade; besides, both his kingdom and his person had been solemnly confided to the protection of the Pope by his father, King John, when on his death-bed in the castle at Newark. The dangers that threatened the boy-king (he was but nine years of age when he succeeded) were of such a nature as todemand from his well-wishers strenuous exertions on his behalf. With the crown he had inherited a war with Louis, afterwards Louis VIII. of France, who on English soil had received the homage of the English barons at London, June 2, 1216; and to this was added the bitter hostility of the barons themselves, whom King John's perfidy had disgusted. These perils were increased by disturbances in Scotland, where Louis had allies, and in Ireland, where there existed a formidable party hostile to the king. On the same day, January 17, 1217, Honorius III. wrote to Scotland and to Ireland in the hope of calming these commotions by his authority, and of bringing into submission those who were in arms against Henry. In his letter to the Archbishop of Dublin he appointed that prelate delegate of the Apostolic See, with a command to use the powers which that position gave him to bring back harmony between the king and his subjects in Ireland. These legatine faculties were withdrawn by another letter (n. 34, pag. 15), dated July 6, 1220, in which the Pontiff states that as peace had been fully restored in the kingdoms of England and Ireland, it was no longer necessary that the Archbishop should continue to act as legate. But on the 31st of the same month letters were issued to the Irish prelates, announcing to them the appointment of a new legate for Ireland and Scotland, in the person of James, the Pope's chaplain and penitentiary. On the same day, and to the same effect, letters were issued to the King of Scotland, as well as to the Irish princes, who are addressed thus:Regibus Ultonie,Corcaie,Limrith,Connatie,Insularum. In one week after his appointment, the new legate was commanded to exercise his authority against the English king, on behalf of the Irish, in a matter of the greatest importance, the documents in connection with which we will now place before our readers.
We said before that on the 17th January, 1216, Pope Honorius III. had written to the Archbishop of Dublin appointing him legate during the then existing troubles. On the 14th January, 1217, just three days before the papal letter was written, Henry III., or his adviser, the Earl of Pembroke, wrote the following letter14to the justiciary of Ireland (Rot. Pat.i.Hen.III,m.14):
"Rex, justiciario suo Hiberniae, salutem. Mandamus vobis quod, in fide quâ nobis tenemini non permittatis quod aliquis Hiberniensis eligatur vel praeficiatur in aliquâ ecclesiâ cathedrali in terra nostra Hiberniae, quoniam ex hoc posset terra nostra, quod absit, perturbari. Et quoniam, etc.... Teste ipso comite apud Oxoniam xivº die Januarii".
This most iniquitous design of excluding Irish ecclesiastics, no matter how fit they might otherwise be, from the government of the Irish sees, and from the spiritual care of their own people, provoked the indignation of the Pope, notwithstanding the deep interest he took in Henry's fortunes. As soon as he was informed of the plan, he at once wrote to the legate the letter alluded to above, commanding him to declare publicly that this law of the king was unjust, null, and void, and that, as heretofore, deserving Irish ecclesiastics should be proposed for vacant sees. The following is the text of the letter (n.36,p.16):
"Honorius Episcopus etc. Dilecto filio Magistro Jacobo Capellano, et penitentiario nostro, Apostolicae Sedis legato salutem etc. Pervenit ad audientiam nostram, quosdam Anglicos inauditae temeritatis audacia statuisse, ut nullus clericus de Ibernia, quantumcunque litteratus et honestus existat, ad aliquam dignitatem ecclesiasticam assumatur. Nolentes igitur tantae temeritatis et iniquitatis abusum surdis auribus pertransire, presentium tibi auctoritate mandamus, quatinus statutum hujusmodi publice denuntians irritum et inane, ac inhibens ipsis Anglicis, ne vel inherere illi, vel simile decetero attemptare presumant. Ibernienses clericos, quibus vitae ac scientiae merita suffragantur, denunties ad ecclesiasticas dignitates, si electi canonice fuerint, libere admittendos. Datum apud Urbemveterem, viii. Idus Augusti, Pontificatus nostri anno quinto".
What the result of the legate's condemnation may have been we do not know; what is certain is, that four years later Honorius III. found it necessary to condemn, by his own authority, the same abuse. His letter to the Irish clergy runs as follows (Theiner,n.55,p.23):
"Honorius Episcopus etc. Dilectis filiis Clero Ybernensi, salutem etc. Sicut ea, que rite ac laudabiliter fiunt, decet per Sedem Apostolicam roborari, ut solidius in sui roboris firmitate consistant, sic ea, que temere ac illicite presumuntur, infirmari convenit per eandem, ne processu temporis robur indignae firmitatis assumant. Sane nostris est jam frequenter auribus intimatum, quosdam Anglicos inauditae temeritatis audacia statuisse, ut nullus clericus de Ybernia, quantumcunque honestus et litteratus existat, ad aliquam dignitatem ecclesiasticam assumatur: Nolentes igitur tantae presumptionis et iniquitatis abusum sub dissimulatione transire, statutum hujusmodi, omni juris et honestatis auxilio destitutum, presentium auctoritate decernimus irritum et inane, districtius inhibentes, ne quis vel inherere illi, vel decetero simile attemptare presumat. Nulli etc. nostrae constitutionis et inhibitionis etc. Si quis etc. Datum Laterani vi. Kalendas Maii P. n. an. octavo".
Thus did the Roman Pontiffs resist this attempt to enslave the Irish Church.
1 (return)Ireland, her present condition, and what it might be.By the Earl of Clancarty. Dublin: 1864.
2 (return)Ed. Reuss, "Die Geschichte der heiligen schriften, N. T.". Brunswick, 1853, pag. 458.
3 (return)View of Europe during the Mid. Ages.
4 (return)Speech of O'Hagan on the trial of F. Petcherine.
5 (return)SeeCatalogo di opere Ebraiche, etc., by Gustavo Zaccaria, Fermo, 1863.
6 (return)Erasmus's edition of 1516 was the firstpublishedGreek Testament. Its dedication to Leo X., and its publication at the expense of the Archbishop of Canterbury, sufficiently disclose to us the Catholic auspices under which it appeared. In the dedication, which is dated the 1st of February, 1516, Erasmus commemorates the many glories of the house of Medici, and especially the zeal of Pope Leo in promoting religion and literature, and adds: "Quamquam ut ingenue dicam, quidquid hoc est operis videri poterat humilius quam ut ei dicandum esset quo nihil majus habet hic orbis, nisi conveniret, ut quidquid ad religionem instaurandam pertinet haud alii consecretur quam summo religionis principi et eidem assertori". As regards the Archbishop of Canterbury, Erasmus writes of him that he deservedly held the post oflegateof his Holiness: "Cui meipsum quoque quantus sum debeo non modo universum studii mei proventum".
7 (return)Hefele, pag. 157, andGomez, pag. 38.
8 (return)Pag. 140, seq.
9 (return)Chap. xxi., pag. 522.
10 (return)See Brunet.Manuel de libraire, Brux. 1888, tom. 2, pag. 444.
11 (return)St. Jerome,Prologus Galeatus.
12 (return)Isaias, xxxiv. 4Id., xl. 26.Id., xlv. 12,Jer., xxxiii. 22.Dan., viii. 10.
13 (return)Ps., cxlviii. 2. III.Kings, xxii. 19. II.Paral., xviii. 18.
14 (return)Shirley's royal and other historical letters illustrative of the reign of Henry III., vol. i., pag. 4.
Transcriber's Notes:Minor obvious typographic errors have been corrected.Inconsistencies in the usage of capitalization, accents and ligatures are preserved as printed.A table of contents has been added for the convenience of the reader.
Transcriber's Notes:
Minor obvious typographic errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in the usage of capitalization, accents and ligatures are preserved as printed.
A table of contents has been added for the convenience of the reader.