The Roman Catholic Church in Britain during the First World War: A Study in Political Leadership by Youssef Taouk A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June, 2003 © Y. Taouk Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Abstract Title: “The Roman Catholic Church in Britain during the First World War: A Study in Political Leadership”. The political influence of British Catholics in First World War Britain has been a neglected aspect of British history. Although some recent studies of Catholicism in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century have included some consideration of the 1914-1918 period, they have mostly concentrated on the wider issue of Catholics and politics in British society and have only touched on the First World War very briefly. This thesis aims to address this deficiency by focusing precisely on the political role played by leading Roman Catholics in Britain during the conflict. The thesis concentrates on leading Catholic clergy, laymen, and the British Catholic press. It demonstrates that the majority of leading Catholics were guided by an excessive nationalism which had two consequences. Firstly, British Catholics supported the war effort and the British government almost unquestioningly. Secondly, most leading Catholics failed to give their full support to the Pope and repudiated his efforts to facilitate a negotiated peace. In addition, this ultra-patriotism on the part of the majority drowned the voices of the few moderate British Catholics who were critical of British intervention in the war. The thesis also reveals how Catholics reacted to various major political milestones during the war. The thesis is based upon research into a wide array of primary material located in archives in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It depends heavily on the private correspondence of the Catholic hierarchy and leading Catholic politicians and publicists. In addition, it includes a survey of the Catholic press of the period, since it manifested the relationship between the leading Catholic clergy and laity, and the rest of British society. Contents Acknowledgements i Abbreviations iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Catholic Church in Britain in 1914: Perspectives 27 Chapter 2 The Clergy and the War: The Triumph of Nationalism, 1914-1915 59 Chapter 3 Prominent Catholic Laymen, the Catholic Press and the War: Initial Reactions 100 Chapter 4 Catholicism, Conscription and Conscientious Objection 141 Chapter 5 Divided Loyalties: Pope or Nation? 178 Chapter 6 “The peace for which we long”: Benedict XV’s Advocacy of a Negotiated Peace and the British Response 220 Chapter 7 “We are alienating the splendid Irish Race”: British Catholics and the Irish Question 278 Chapter 8 A New World Order: Austria-Hungary, the United States, and a League of Nations 336 Conclusion 381 Appendix A 402 Appendix B 405 Appendix C 408 Appendix D 410 Bibliography 415 Acknowledgements Along my journey I have incurred numerous debts of gratitude. I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Douglas Newton, for his constant patience and encouragement. His advice and persistent explanation were invaluable and his dedication admirable. I am greatly indebted to diocesan archivists, who were parish priests and whose demanding schedule left them limited time to open the archives. I must express my gratitude especially to Fr. David Lannon at the diocesan archives of Salford, Burnley. His assistance, hospitality and cheerfulness were truly touching. I am also indebted to Fr. Ian Dickie, archivist of the archdiocese of Westminster for his helpful advice; Fr. Michael Clifton, archivist at the diocese of Southwark, and Fr. Charles Briggs who opened the archives for me while Fr. Clifton was away; Fr. Thomas McCoog S.J. and Br. James Hodkinson S.J. of the English Province of the Society of Jesus; Dom Philip Jebb O.S.B. and the Benedictine monks at Downside Abbey for their kindness and hospitality; Fr. John Harding, archivist of the diocese of Clifton; Fr. Anthony Dolan of the diocese of Nottingham; Dr. Meg Whittle, archivist of the archdiocese of Liverpool; Mrs. Margaret Osborne of the diocesan archives of Northampton; Pietro Finaldi of the Catholic Truth Society; Mary McHugh of the archdiocese of Glasgow; Dr. Christine Johnson of the Scottish Catholic archives; and I would like to make a special mention of Crónán Ó Doibhlin, librarian of the Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich library and archive, Armagh. I would also like to thank Lawrence Aspden, the curator of special collections, Sheffield University Library; Mrs. Sarah Roger, assistant archivist at Arundel Castle; the archivists at the manuscripts rooms of the British Library; British Library of Political and Economic Science; Colindale Newspaper Library; Bodleian College Library; Cambridge i University Library; the Brynmor Jones Library, Hull University; Brotherton Library, Leeds University; Edinburgh University Library; National Archives of Scotland; St. Andrews University Library; Trinity College Dublin; National Library of Ireland; the staff at the Public Record Office, Kew Gardens; House of Lords Record Office; and Warwickshire Record Office. I would like to pay tribute to the librarians who work hard to provide service to the public. My special thanks to Megan Atkins of the State Library of New South Wales whose assistance was more appreciated than she knew, and the other staff at the library who assisted me and took interest in my thesis. I would also like to thank the staff at Fisher Library, Sydney University; Veech Library, Catholic Institute of Sydney; Daniel Mannix Library, Catholic Theological College, Melbourne; the State Library of Victoria; the Australian National Library; and the British Library reading room. I am immensely grateful to the following people for their assistance, encouragement, and friendship: Tony Elzain, whose assistance in researching The Tablet is much appreciated; Mike Yaghbouni, who welcomed me in London and provided me with initial accommodation, and whose friendship I will treasure; Carolyn Wooldridge, whose kindness, friendship and generosity while I was in London will never be forgotten; Mona Romanos, for bringing certain discrepancies in the introduction and chapter one to my attention, and her husband Nadim; Joseph Elzain, for his technical assistance, including printing and photocopying; Dr. John Dunleavy for providing me with background information on the Irish in Britain. I would also like to give a special mention to Katherine Finlay whose familiarity with the topic was a great comfort. I am grateful to ii her for the warm company she provided when I was in Britain and for pointing out the numerous small errors and inconsistencies in the thesis. Finally, without the assistance and moral support of my family, it would have been considerably harder to complete this thesis. They cushioned me whenever I fell and encouraged me to remain on my feet. Their support has meant so much more than they could know. To my younger nieces and nephews, I can finally say that my “book” is finished. My greatest debt is to my parents who gave me the gift of life. I have always been overwhelmed by my mother’s generosity and admiring of my father’s prudent silence. iii Abbreviations AAL Archdiocesan Archives of Liverpool AAW Archdiocesan Archives of Westminster ASJ Archives of the British Province of the Society of Jesus Bod. Lib. Bodleian College Library, Oxford University, Mss. Collection C.B.N. Catholic Book Notes C.O. Conscientious Objector C.S.G. Catholic Social Guild C.T.S. Catholic Truth Society C.U.G.B. Catholic Union of Great Britain DAN Diocesan Archives of Northampton I.L.P. Independent Labour Party L.N.S. League of Nations Society N-C.F. No-Conscription Fellowship NLI National Library of Ireland POW Prisoner of War P.R.O. Public Record Office S.R.S. Scottish Reformation Society U.D.C. Union of Democratic Control U.I.L. United Irish League iv Introduction The Church in any age is supposed to be the conscience of society, and is expected to act as a moderating force in time of war. Yet when the bugle called in 1914, the Christian Churches in Britain eagerly rallied to answer the call. The Roman Catholic Church, in common with most of the other Christian denominations, supported Britain’s intervention in the European war. Catholics of all classes, with a few exceptions, accepted that Britain’s military effort was made in a just cause. Taking this view as a starting point, this thesis will concentrate particularly on leading lay and ecclesiastic Roman Catholics of the period 1914-1918. Although the clergy played a significant role in leading the Church and framing its policies, the early twentieth-century British Catholic Church, as A. Hastings has argued, “was led to a remarkable extent in its wider, more secular life, by the laity, not the clergy.”1 Thus, while the clergy’s role in guiding and instructing the Church in Britain in the period of the First World War was critical, it would be misleading to underestimate the influence of prominent laymen in that period as well. This dissertation aims to fill a historical gap in British histories of the First World War period. The central objective of this thesis is to investigate the reactions and responses of leading British Catholics to various political issues arising from the war. It will also undertake to explore the role of Catholicism as a political force in British society in that vital period. One of its aims is to show how the leadership of a specific religious group in Britain, whose religious loyalties were committed to a “foreign power”, at times influenced, or was influenced by, the events and issues of the day.