The Papal Nuncio
The conflict in Ireland had naturally excited much interest at Rome, and Pope Urban VIII had already employed an agent amongst the Catholics. Urban’s successor, Innocent X, resolving on a further step, arranged to send a regular accredited nuncio to the Confederates, and he selected for the mission John Baptist Rinuccini, Archbishop of Fermo. The Nuncio was both a skilled diplomatist and an excellent judge of men and of political situations. On his way to Ireland he stayed a while in Paris and obtained from Cardinal Mazarin, who now ruled France for the child-King, Louis XIV, a sum of 25,000 crowns for the Confederates. He landed at Kenmare (October 21st, 1645), and proceeded at once to Kilkenny, where he was received with the greatest honour.
About the same time that the Nuncio arrived in Ireland, an accident revealed the secret of the Glamorgan Treaty to Ormond and the English generally. In an attack made on the Parliamentarians in Sligo, Malachy O’Queely, Archbishop of Tuam, who was with the Royalist general Taaffe, was killed and, on his baggage being examined, a copy of the treaty was found in it. Ormond at once had Glamorgan arrested, and wrote to the King an account of the whole affair. Charles disclaimed Glamorgan’s proceedings, saying he had never intended him to act without Ormond’s knowledge and advice. He insinuated that the warrant under which the Earl claimed to act was surreptitiously obtained or a forgery. Charles’ disclaimer was not believed by either the English or the Irish. Indeed, though the former part of his statement may have been true, the latter was almost certainly false. Glamorgan was, after a few months’ imprisonment, released.
Rinuccini had been instructed by the Pope to abstain frommeddling in politics, and to confine himself to endeavouring to obtain complete toleration, at least, and the withdrawal of all civil disabilities, for the Irish Catholics. To any idea of shaking off their allegiance to the King, should the Irish conceive such, he was to lend no countenance.
Before he had been long in Ireland, however, the Nuncio had come to under-stand that to separate religious from political questions was impossible, and that he must either stand aside altogether, or plunge boldly into the sea of turmoil.
On learning the terms of the peace which the Supreme Council proposed to make with the English Royalist party, he at once declared the articles relating to religion to be unsatisfactory, and, therefore, condemned the peace as a whole. Negotiations had for some time been in progress between Henrietta Maria, Charles’ exiled queen, and the Pope, regarding a peace.
This agreement, generally known as ” the Queen’s Peace,” Rinuccini regarded as much more satisfactory, and he wished the Council to consider it. He must, however, have been well aware that the terms offered would never be agreed to by the English people, and that the Queen had no power to enforce their performance. Most probably he desired in reality the breaking off of all negotiations with any of the English parties, and the resumption of the war with tvhole-heartedness and spirit on the part of the Confederates. This, too, was the desire of the old Irish party, with whom the Nuncio was now fully in accord.
