Vatican denies Papal envoy interference in Ireland’s political affairs
Dublin, 23 April 1923 - Details of the mission to Ireland of the Papal Envoy, Monsignor Luzio, have been revealed from correspondence that has been released by Cardinal Logue, the Catholic Prime of Ireland.
However, the Holy See has moved to dispel any notion that it was attempting to interfere in the political affairs of Ireland.
The purpose of the envoy’s Irish visit is set out in a letter to Cardinal Logue dated 9 March 1923 in which the writer of the letter, Cardinal Gasparri states that Salvatore Luzio was being sent to Ireland ‘by charge of the Holy Father ’ to ascertain knowledge on the state of affairs in Ireland and to ‘co-operate, as far as he possibly can, in the pacification of minds in the interest of much-desired and definite settlement of the country’.
The publication of the correspondence with Rome by Cardinal Logue is a response to a controversy that has erupted in the Freeman’s Journal in recent days concerning Monsignor Luzio’s credentials and the exact purpose of his mission to Ireland.
Monsignor Luzio was received on April 11th by President Cosgrave but a statement issued by the Government Publicity Department indicates that the visit was purely a ‘courtesy’ and that no credentials were presented. President Cosgrave later remarked that the Monsignor was in Ireland on an ecclesiastical mission and the Government was not at all concerned by it. ‘I took the call merely as a courteous, friendly act, and saw nothing else in it ’, the President said.
Monsignor Luzio has since clarified that should he decide to take an active part in the movement for peace in Ireland he will of course present his credentials to the government. He further clarified that neither he nor Pope Pius XI would dream of interfering in the political affairs of the country and they would not intrude where their intervention was neither necessary nor wanted.
A number of public bodies have passed resolutions welcoming Monsignor Luzio and expressing the hope that his visit will help further the case of peace.
In expressing gratitude to those public bodies who have requested his intervention for peace and passed resolutions to that effect, Monsignor Luzio has nevertheless asked those intending to pass similar resolutions to abstain from doing so, as the desire of the people for peace was already, he said, abundantly clear.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
