The Nuncio, Religious Reform and the Irish Clergy
The Nuncio, Religious Reform and the Irish Clergy
The legatine synod of August 1646 proved emblematic of the manner in which the ecclesiastical aspect of GianBattista Rinuccini's mission as Ireland's nuncio developed. Originally convened to ratify the full acceptance of tridentine decrees and discipline in Ireland, it was almost entirely taken over by political events and developed into the vehicle for the clerical putsch against the government of the Supreme Council. In a similar fashion, throughout his four years in Ireland, Rinuccini was to find his role as an ecclesiastical organiser in danger of being swamped by the necessity of involving himself in confederate politics. So prominent did he become in this sphere that it is hardly surprising that the more narrowly ecclesiastical aspect of his mission has been passed over by Irish historians. Yet both Rinuccini and his superiors had originally viewed his mission as primarily one of church reform and ecclesiastical supervision and this always remained the nuncio's chief objective in Ireland.
Keywords: GianBattista Rinuccini, tridentine decrees, Supreme Council, confederates, Catholics, clergy, church reform, nuncio, bishops
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