Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, has criticized the actions of Irish bishops during the Irish Civil War (1922-23). The war followed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which granted dominion status within the British empire to 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties.
“Most controversially, the bishops proposed the denial of absolution or admission to Holy Communion to those who would persevere in violent resistance, urging them to repent of their ‘grave sins’ and to cease what the bishops called this ‘lamentable upheaval,’” Archbishop Martin said.
“The bishops’ failure to name and shame the atrocities being committed by the pro-Treaty side fed the narrative that they spoke with two voices: that the Free State government could act with impunity, whilst those continuing the armed struggle for an all-Ireland solution could do no good,” he added.