Letter from Charles Bewley to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(Copy)

Secretary

I was not able definitely to ascertain the date fixed for the presentation of my letters of credit until the time at which I wired you. The reason for the delay in telling us a definite date would appear to be that the Italian Ambassador to the Vatican, de Vecchi, presented his letters of credit on Tuesday, June 25th, and out of a (possibly mistaken) fear of hurting our feelings, Monsignore Pizzardo did not wish to put it on that ground. The formal intimation of the date was only given to me after the Italian Ambassador had been received; the new Ambassador for Venezuela is, I understand, to be received at the beginning of next week.

I need not recount the details of the ceremonial of my reception, as they followed the directions in the Protocollo. I enclose newspaper cuttings from the Corriere d'Italia and the Osservatore Romano, of which the former sets out the substance of my address and of the Holy Father's reply. I do not think that any complaint can be made of the non-publication of these in the Osservatore Romano, as it (presumably as a protest against the re-publication in pamphlet form of Mussolini's now notorious speeches) did not print either de Vecchi's address or the Holy Father's reply. In any event, the address as reported in the Italian papers amounts to less than 200 words, whereas mine was over 425.

The Holy Father spoke in French, and very slowly: the whole substance of his reply is contained in the summary of the Corriere d'Italia, with the exception of the phrase 'l'Irlande entiére', which I noted, but to which I did not ascribe any particular importance until after my interview with the Secretary of State. In the private audience he referred first to the faith of the Irish Nation as shown in the past and also in the present. I observed that his delegate to the celebrations and the message which he bore had been received with the utmost enthusiasm, and he said that the reports which had reached him showed that the faith of the Irish People was as strong as it had ever been. The audience lasted about ten minutes. I had asked for permission to speak German, both because I can express myself more spontaneously in that language and because I had been informed from a number of sources that the Holy Father likes to speak it.

After this audience I was conducted to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Gasparri, who started our conversation by asking whether Ireland was now peaceful and contented, and whether there was no longer hostility to England. I said that the task of reconciliation between the two countries had made very great progress - more than one would have believed possible. He then began to talk about Canada and the discontent which it had felt in the time of Gladstone, and how that statesman had offered it complete independence, but it had refused on the ground that it preferred to be defended by the British Fleet without having to pay for the privilege. I did not think it appropriate to enter into a discussion on questions of historical or chronological accuracy, but contented myself with saying that England had at a later date entered upon the same path of conciliation in Ireland as she had previously entered upon in Canada, and that one could only hope that it would progress. The Cardinal then asked whether the Ministers were 'bien aimés' in Ireland. I emphasised the fact that our Government is composed of men sprung from the people of Ireland, and that the people as a whole feels that it has a native and independent Government.

In the course of the afternoon the Cardinal called at this Hotel, where I had taken a room on the ground floor so as to avoid the necessity of his entering the small and rather uncomfortable lift. His visit lasted about 20 minutes, of which a good part was spent in a discussion of suitable sites for legations. In this connection he mentioned that the Italian Government had paid 13,000,000 lire for its Embassy in the neighbourhood of the Vatican, and added, 'Moi je l'aurais achété pour trois ou quatre millions'. He mentioned again the great influence of Ireland in the Catholic world in spite of its small size and the fact that a large proportion of the American and Canadian Cardinals have Irish names. He then said that for this reason the Holy Father always desired that there should be one Irish Cardinal. He then said that Dublin was the capital of Ireland, but what was the other city? I suggested Armagh. He appeared to be aware of the fact that Armagh is not in the Irish Free State, and, mentioning the possibility of one of the two Archbishops being made a Cardinal, suggested that it would not be taken amiss in the Irish Free State if the Cardinal's hat were given to Armagh. It occurred to me that the Holy Father's allusion to 'l'Irlande entiére' might have reference to this matter, and that probably the question has already been decided upon. I therefore merely replied that in religious matters the Irish race had never been divided. Nothing else in the conversation was of sufficient importance to be worth relating. I did not think it appropriate to refer to the question of a Nuncio, but will do so, should you think right, before leaving Rome.

I shall forward to you the photograph taken in the Vatican galleries as soon as I can obtain it for publication.

As regards the question of a new Cardinal, I understand that a Consistory is to be held in the course of July, but that it is probably only for the purpose of elevating the Archbishop of Milan to the Sacred College: still it is possible that the intention may be to elevate Dr. McRory at the same time. I would suggest that Cardinal Gasparri's observations should be kept entirely secret, as it would probably be undesirable that any suggestion should be made that the Irish Government were privy to or even aware of the conferring of the honour on Armagh rather than Dublin. Cardinal Gasparri's object in mentioning the matter was apparently to inform the Irish Government of the intention and find out its attitude: that it was not merely a casual reference appeared from the fact that he led up to it by references to the position of Cardinal Scrédi, whose diocese apparently is divided between Hungary and Czecho-Slovakia.

Mr. Randall rang me up this morning and asked for a copy of my address, which I have duly supplied to him, as I suppose it will in any event appear in the Irish press.

I have called at the English College, but found both the Rector and Vice-Rector away. At the American College I was received by Monsignore Burke, who informed me that his grandfather lived in Rathfarnham, but had to leave Ireland on account of his Fenian activities. The Monsignor is very American in manner, and rather emphasised the cosmopolitan origin of the students in his College: he is apparently very well off, and mentioned the fact that he has two large cars. He also stated that the country house of the American College at Castel Gandolfo is a regular show place.

It is worth mentioning that no card has been left on me by anyone connected with the Irish College.