Catholic Church -- Ireland -- Periodicals; Catholic Church -- Periodicals
It may be asked, had he a reversionary provision before the
union was canonically effected? If not, is _Thomas_ a misprint for _John_
in the Bull? as we are aware that there are many typographical errors in
the _Hib. Dom._—for instance, as to _John_ O’Molony, Bishop of Killaloe,
who died circ. 1650, is in several places called _Thomas_.
The next bishop respecting whom I wish to make some observations is Eugene
or Owen Magenis, appointed in 1541, and though I am not disposed to deal
uncharitably with him, I have no doubt he was a “temporiser”, though he
may have been secretly “orthodox”. Dr. M’Carthy (Dr. Kelly’s _Essays_, p.
427), and Brennan, and Walsh, in their ecclesiastical histories of Ireland
are compelled to come to the same conclusion; and upon the whole of his
career I candidly confess I don’t know what other result they could arrive
at. I ground nothing on his being present, if he were present, at Queen
Elizabeth’s first parliament in 1560, which passed the Act of Uniformity,
and required the oath of supremacy to be taken by all ecclesiastics; for
even if he had been present, there is no documentary evidence extant
showing how those in attendance voted, and those acquainted with Irish
history know on the authority of Archdeacon Lynch that these acts were
hurriedly and surreptitiously passed on a day when they were not expected
to be brought forward, and in a thin packed house. But it appears, so far
as his public acts are reported, that he submitted in matters of
ecclesiastical discipline to all the rapid changes and schisms which the
fertile imaginations of the pseudo-reformers introduced during the Tudor
reigns. He surrendered his bulls to Henry VIII., obtained from Paul,
“Bishop of Rome”, not “His Holiness”; took out pardon for accepting them,
with a new grant of the see, with the archdeaconry and confirmation of the
parishes of Aghaderg and Anaghlone, parishes to which _he had been_
promoted by the Primate in 1526 and 1528. It is an oversight to suppose
that about 1541 and 1543 the northern chieftains who submitted to Henry
VIII. were exempted from all pressure in matter of religion. Cox (_Aug.
Hib._, vol. i. p. 272) writes that the king about that time caused all the
Irish who submitted to him to renounce the “Pope’s usurpations, and to own
the king’s supremacy by indenture”, among others, stating that O’Neill did
so, January, 1542, all the indentures being registered in the Red Book of
the Exchequer. The articles of Con O’Neill’s submission are printed in
vol. iii. part iii. p. 353, of the _State Papers of Henry VIII_.; and by
the second article, he expressly renounces obedience to the Roman Pontiff
and his usurped authority, and acknowledges the king to be the supreme
head of the Church in England and Ireland, immediately under Christ. Manus
O’Donnell, 3rd June the preceding year, in his letter styles the king on
Earth immediately under Christ supreme head of the Church of
England—(_Ib._, p. 217).
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