Letter from Joseph P. Walshe to Frederick H. Boland (Dublin)
(Secret and Confidential)

My dear Secretary,
I went to see Mgr. Montini at 11.30 yesterday morning. He had fixed the appointment on Saturday.

I realized from your telephone message of the 6th Sept that the requirement of the Minister, at the moment, was to gain time and I had that purpose in view during my ¾ hr talk. When he said that the H.F. had appointed etc I took him up at once on the question of the most unusual speed of the step. I quoted the old Irish proverb that it isn't lucky to appoint a P.P. before his predecessor's body was cold. Indeed, I went on to say, if the announcement were made, now, of a successor to the Nuncio, the people would be scandalized, and quite rightly so. I asked why he hadn't spoken to me before the message was sent. After all, in our relations with the Holy See we were extremely careful never to act precipitately, and I knew that the procedure was not normal. He immediately replied that, of course there was no hurry about an announcement in public. I then said that my Minister had to have many considerations in mind when faced with the new problem. We were going through difficult times in the history of our country. As he might have seen in the press, we were probably going to change the law governing our very tenuous relations with the King, and the Minister might feel that it would not be fitting that a new representative from the Holy Father should be put in the position of emphasizing the present unreal situation. I told him about the statements recently made by the Minister, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in the Dáil on this and cognate questions. I said furthermore that the Minister and the Government, as a whole, were determined to secure the evacuation of that part of our territory still occupied by the British, at the earliest possible date. The appointment of a Nuncio and his special qualifications were very relevant indeed to such matters of extreme gravity to the Irish people and not only to those in Ireland. Everything pointed to the need for the greatest consideration and prudence and especially for allowing a reasonable period of time to elapse before taking any final step. To emphasize these points, I then went on to ask Monsignor Montini several questions about the Candidate. I asked his present occupation in the Secretariat; his age; whether he had ever had the opportunity of coming in contact with Irish, Irish-American or Anglo-Irish Affairs; whether he was known to have read much about Ireland etc. Mgr. Montini replied that the Candidate's present occupation was that of doing odd jobs in the Secretariat in relation to relief abroad and to Red Cross work. Naturally, like the other three or four disponibles who had been Nuncios before the war, he could come and go as he liked. He was a man who never took 'advantage of his posts' to better his position, and was always ready to make sacrifices. He had no knowledge of Ireland or Irish Affairs, but he was a very holy man and the people of Ireland who were so very good would grow to love him! He added however that it would be possible for me to give him 'some weeks' drilling at the Embassy! I said, by the way, that I had always thought that Valerio¹ and Testa² were the first class men of those who were recently disponibles. He replied that that was so, but at the same time the Candidate was very intelligent. As Mgr. Montini's attitude now clearly indicated that he was conscious of having made two grave mistakes; a) by the attempt to rush us, and, b) by using the formula 'The H.F. has appointed etc.' I said I felt convinced that in the interest of the Church and of Ireland it was essential that the sending of the wire to Paro³ should be kept an absolute secret, and that no mention whatever of the appointment should be made until the Irish Government had had a considerable period of time to go into all the circumstances. He said at once, 'Of course, two months will be time enough. Meanwhile (making the sign of the cross over his lips in modo Italiano) the only four people in the Vatican who know the Secret will keep it sealed up in their hearts'. I made the same promise, with the same gesture, on the Minister's behalf, in so far, I added, as his consultations would permit.

If the Minister had been with me he would have come to the only possible conclusion from the interview, namely that Mgr. Montini, being up in the hills when the Nuncio's death appeared in the Osservatore, said to himself 'Per Bacco! Eccola, l'occasione di far qual 'cosa per nostro vecchio, ora avremo soltanto tre piccoli Bimbi Indiani nella secretaria di stato.' The Ten Little Nigger Boys of Agatha C.[hristie] is known to all Italians through the famous film. In taking that attitude Mgr. Montini was following the natural first impulse of any Secretary of a Department. Back to Rome at once, he dispatched the wire. Before doing so he got his Secretary to ring me up (Saturday the 4th Sept.) The appointment was eventually arranged for Tuesday at 11.30. I asked the Secretary whether the appointment was important, if so, I was ready to go over at once (9.0 pm.) or at any time, no matter how early on Sunday or Monday. After obvious consultation, for a minute or so, the S. said Tuesday will do fine, 'the matter is not important'. When I said to Mgr. M. during our chat that his Secretary had told me the matter was not important, his reply was that it was really only a matter of premura (kindness, a little bit more sentimental than cortesia). In fact he clearly didn't want to see me before dispatching the telegram. He knew that I would have advised so strongly against it that he couldn't have sent it ... as I did, with success two years ago when he was going to dispatch a letter to Godfrey⁴ to be handed by him to the King.⁵

During the conversation, he made a few moves to stand up to let the two people waiting in the anteroom have their turn. As I knew they were nuisance visitors of no importance, I did not take the hint and insisted on completing all I had to say. Once we had finished he forgot about the visitors and started a long chat on certain measures for the co-ordination of World Catholic effort, which we have frequently talked over and which I hope, will lead to positive action by the Holy See.

As usual, I would like to emphasize to the Minister that the conversation was of the most friendly character. M. has long since become a personal friend, largely because his lay friends in Catholic Action are also close friends of mine. I spoke to him all the time as if it were an academic question, at least so far as the tone was concerned. Naturally in view of the possibility of the Minister wanting to accept this Candidate I could never hit the nail precisely on the head. I tried to keep away from my mind all the implications of such an appointment, if it were to go through: a Nunciature in Dublin run on purely Italian lines; the discontent of the Bishops; the comments of the Irish Catholic and the English and American Catholic world on our acceptance of an Italian and of such low calibre; the new difficulties in the way of Irish unity ... Dublin rule would now be really Rome rule with a branch of the Missio Italica in our midst, completely manned by Italians; the added difficulties of Protestants about to come over, for whom the late Nuncio represented a new hope, because he foreshadowed a move away from the Italianita so distasteful, historically to our Protestant population. There was also the complete disregard for our special needs, sacrificed to the mere giving of a job to an old man in a country where intentions are numerous. X has no funds and the job is very largely given as an act of charity. You know enough about the Panico case⁶ to make the contrast. You can mention to the Minister other and graver inconveniences in relation to the appointments of Bishops and in relation to the unity of our country.

It is my considered view that we should not allow ourselves to be treated in this manner. There has not been an atom of attention given to our needs, and I feel absolutely certain that they would not dare to make a similar appointment elsewhere. At one moment Montini said imprudently 'we'll see what the Government will say'. To me that could only mean that he was beginning to see that acceptance was remote and much too good to be true.

My dear Secretary, I hope you can tell the Minister enough about myself here and at home to let him see that I could not be guilty of disrespect towards the Holy Father, but it is absolutely essential for me to say what I know to be true about the defects of the institution as now organised. Otherwise, I should be an unfaithful servant.