Pastoral Letter
Document Analysis:
Pastoral Letter: The Catholic Hierarchy condemns the anti-Treaty forces in the Civil War, 11 October 1922
The pastoral letter was written by cardinal Michael Logue and the other archbishops of Ireland in Dublin on 11 October 1922. In December of the previous year five members of the Irish delegation, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, signed the Anglo-Irish treaty. When the delegations returned the treaty was met with fierce opposition. Apart from failing to secure the six counties of the north the document swore an allegiance to George V.1 The conditions of the agreement created divisions between Irish parliamentary leaders who failed to unite on a decision for or against the treaty. Despite initial enthusiasm among the general public throughout the twenty-six counties, a split in Government both parliamentary and military not only left a nation without an effective leadership but also resulted in a greater divide that precipitated violent turmoil and unrest. Florrie O’Donoghue Irish historian and Head of Intelligence for Cork No. 1 Brigade, noted ‘National unity was broken at the top. No power under heaven could prevent the split from spreading downwards’.2 In response to the anarchy and bloodshed, and as a part of the counter-insurgency campaign of the provisional government, the Catholic hierarchy was asked to intervene and address the violence.
The overall aim of the pastoral was to address and condemn violent anti-treaty forces and their allies, including members of its own clergy. The hierarchy aimed to assert its influence over a predominantly catholic population by terming the rebellion as an unjust war, and accusing its participants of immoral acts, which undermined the law of God. ‘Killing in an unjust war is as much murder before God as if there were no war.’3 Patrick Murray, author of Oracles of God and Irish politics noted that through the pastoral the church prompted its subjects to its
Pastoral Letter: The Catholic Hierarchy condemns the anti-Treaty forces in the Civil War, 11 October 1922
The pastoral letter was written by cardinal Michael Logue and the other archbishops of Ireland in Dublin on 11 October 1922. In December of the previous year five members of the Irish delegation, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, signed the Anglo-Irish treaty. When the delegations returned the treaty was met with fierce opposition. Apart from failing to secure the six counties of the north the document swore an allegiance to George V.1 The conditions of the agreement created divisions between Irish parliamentary leaders who failed to unite on a decision for or against the treaty. Despite initial enthusiasm among the general public throughout the twenty-six counties, a split in Government both parliamentary and military not only left a nation without an effective leadership but also resulted in a greater divide that precipitated violent turmoil and unrest. Florrie O’Donoghue Irish historian and Head of Intelligence for Cork No. 1 Brigade, noted ‘National unity was broken at the top. No power under heaven could prevent the split from spreading downwards’.2 In response to the anarchy and bloodshed, and as a part of the counter-insurgency campaign of the provisional government, the Catholic hierarchy was asked to intervene and address the violence.
The overall aim of the pastoral was to address and condemn violent anti-treaty forces and their allies, including members of its own clergy. The hierarchy aimed to assert its influence over a predominantly catholic population by terming the rebellion as an unjust war, and accusing its participants of immoral acts, which undermined the law of God. ‘Killing in an unjust war is as much murder before God as if there were no war.’3 Patrick Murray, author of Oracles of God and Irish politics noted that through the pastoral the church prompted its subjects to its