Catholic bishops made it clear whose side they were on during the Civil War

Almost 100 years ago, in April 1923, when the IRA issued its order to “dump arms” and so brought the dreadful Civil War to an end, the Catholic bishops in Ireland must have heaved many a sigh of relief. For 10 years, since the formation of the National Volunteers in 1913, they agonised daily on what they must do to guide their people while avoiding politics as best they could.

Two statements they issued during the War of Independence were praised for their condemnation of crown forces in Ireland. But when the Dáil passed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in January 1922, a moral question arose: who could claim to be the lawful government and could rebellion against it be justified?

They confronted this in two pastoral letters on April 26th and October 10th, 1922. Historians have often glossed over these as a pursuit of power, but there was an underlying moral question. In April 1922 they wrote: “Principles are now being advocated which are in fundamental conflict with the law of God. The claim that the army, or a part of it, can, without authority from the nation as a whole, declare itself independent of all civil authority in the country is an immoral usurpation and confiscation of the people’s rights.”

The general election of June 16th, 1922 showed that the majority of the Irish public favoured the Treaty, but the Civil War grew in violence and suffering as the year progressed. So much so that in late September the government passed a far-reaching Public Safety (Emergency Powers) Bill which included an offer of amnesty.

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At their meeting of October 10th, 1922, the bishops issued a pastoral letter by way of a booklet of 2,000 words which was to be read in all churches in Ireland. The bishops were resolute that “no one is justified in rebelling against the legitimate government, whatever it is, set up by the nation and acting within its rights”.

On October 14th, 1922 one provincial newspaper described the letter as “sound and so convincing”; another described it as “the most remarkable document ever issued from Maynooth”. Another said: ‘If any Catholic has any lingering doubt as to their duty towards the Irish Free State, those doubts have been removed by this document.”

The bishops recommended that the amnesty on offer should be availed of. They went further and warned that “those who participate in such actions may not be absolved in Confession, nor admitted to Holy Communion, if they purpose to persevere in such evil courses”.

What was at stake was the integrity of the two sacraments. Priests were warned that, if they disobeyed, they were “false to their sacred office”. Being bound by the “seal of Confession”, priests could never reveal what was confessed, so excommunications by name were not an option. However, sincere republicans who claimed they were denied the Eucharist suffered greatly.

Not all priests were at one with their bishops. Many had family and friends conscientiously dedicated to the anti-Treaty side. Patrick Murray, in his book Oracles of God: The Roman Catholic Church and Irish Politics 1922-37, listed 582 Irish priests who were pro-Treaty and 176 priests who declared themselves as anti-Treaty.

Archbishop Patrick O’Donnell of Armagh wrote that ‘all executions are deplorable, especially that of poor Childers’. Up to then, he felt, the government had done well on the whole but, in carrying out the executions, ‘wisdom left them’

As 1922 came to an end military campaigns gave way to guerrilla tactics and widespread murder of Free State army members. A threat was made that all government TDs were subject to possible assassination. The murder of TD Seán Hales led to the execution on December 7th, 1922 of four Republican prisoners, including Erskine Childers.

Nowadays, the legality of the Act which allowed this is questioned, but it soon began to be enforced through many executions, some not announced beforehand. Few had foreseen such dreadful consequences. Archbishop of Dublin Edward Byrne regarded the policy of such reprisals as “not only unwise but entirely unjustifiable from the moral point of view”.

Archbishop Patrick O’Donnell of Armagh wrote that “all executions are deplorable, especially that of poor Childers”. Up to then, he felt, the government had done well on the whole but, in carrying out the executions, “wisdom left them”.

International governments then held the right of capital punishment for serious crimes. The Irish government’s position as outlined was that “they were obliged, with the security of the nation in jeopardy, to take many stern but just actions in the spirit of the solemn teaching of our highest moral authority” – a veiled reference to the stance of the Catholic bishops..

During the Civil War 1,500 people lost their lives, people of honour and heroism on both sides – almost as many as had died in the War of Independence. For generations afterwards, at local level, silence was the golden rule and, gradually, intense hatred subsided. However, democracy survives to this day.

Fr Kieran Waldron is a retired parish priest of Tuam archdiocese and author of a number of books on local and diocesan history