Peter Walsh, O.F.M., ( la, Petrus Valesius; c. 1618 – March 15, 1688) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and controversialist.

Biography

Peter Walsh was born near Mooretown,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

. His father was a chandler in Naas, and his mother is said to have been an English protestant. He studied at Franciscan College of St. Anthony in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, where he joined the

Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachin ...

, and acquired Jansenist sympathies. In 1646 Walsh went to

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, then in the hands of the rebel "

confederate Catholics Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...

," and, in opposition to the

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Rinuccini Rinuccini is a surname, and may refer to: *Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653), an Italian archbishop. *Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1562 – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera librettist at the end of ...

, urged, and in 1649 helped to secure, peace with the viceroy

Ormonde Ormonde is a surname occurring in Portugal (mainly Azores), Brazil, England, and United States. It may refer to: People * Ann Ormonde (born 1935), an Irish politician * James Ormond or Ormonde (c. 1418–1497), the illegitimate son of John Butl ...

on behalf of King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. Walsh was arrested by the militant Irish Confederate Catholic faction in 1646, along with other "peace party" advocates like

Richard Bellings Sir Richard Bellings (1613–1677) was a lawyer and political figure in 17th century Ireland and in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He is best known for his participation in Confederate Ireland, a short-lived independent Irish state, in which he ...

after the Treaty they had negotiated with Ormonde and the English Royalists was rejected in the Confederate General Assembly. Those opposed to the Treaty included militant Catholic clergy led by the Papal Nuncio Rinuccini) who wanted Roman Catholicism established as the state religion in Ireland and Irish lords, such as Owen Roe O'Neill, who wanted to recover the lands and power their families had lost after the

Plantations of Ireland Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...

. Walsh was guardian of the Franciscan friary at Kilkenny from 1648 to 1650. He served as chaplain to Castlehaven’s army in Munster from 1650 to 1651. All Catholic clergy captured by the Cromwellians were executed and Walsh, in danger of death, fled Ireland, first to London, then Madrid, and Holland. He subsequently lived obscurely in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1661 he was appointed accredited London agent by the few surviving Irish bishops.

The Irish Remonstrance

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Walsh urged his patron, Ormonde, to support the Irish Roman Catholics as the natural friends of royalty against the Protestant sectaries, who had supported the Parliament during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

. Walsh endeavoured to mitigate their lot and efface the impression made by their successive rebellions by a loyal remonstrance to Charles II, boldly repudiating

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...

and interference in public affairs, and affirming undivided allegiance to the crown. For eight years he canvassed for signatures to this address, but in spite of considerable support, the strenuous opposition of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and Dominicans deterred the clergy and nearly wrecked the scheme. (See also:

Act of Settlement 1662 The Act of Settlement 1662 was passed by the Parliament of Ireland, Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Oliver Cromwell, Cromwellian Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists f ...

for Irish politics at the time). A General Chapter of the Franciscans held in Antwerp in 1664 protested Walsh's publications undermining the authority of the Minister General and of the Holy See.

Later life

From 1669 until his death, Walsh lived in London, much respected for his honesty, loyalty and learning. Through the influence of Ormonde, he secured the seneschalship of Winchester (worth about £100 a year) from the bishop of that see. He and his supporters were declared renegades to be spurned by other friars by the Order's

General Chapter A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...

of 1670 for having published without the permission of the

Minister General Minister General is the term used for the leader or Superior General of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to them, and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. He chose this word over "Super ...

of the Order, but he remained a devout adherent of the Catholic Church, although he maintained friendly relations with the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

s, accepting their Holy orders and attending their churches. It is said that it was only a few days before his death, he was induced to make his peace with the Church, though that has been questioned. At his death, his books and papers were removed by the friars. He was buried in the

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

of the Church of

St Dunstan-in-the-West The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in the City of London. It is dedicated to Dunstan, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of medieval origin, although the present building, with an octagonal ...

Bibliography

Walsh wrote (1672-1684) a series of controversial letters against

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

's doctrine of papal supremacy over princes; a voluminous ''History of the Remonstrance'' (1674); ''Hibernica'' (1682), a history of Ireland; in 1686 a reply to the ''Popery of Thomas Barlow'' (1607-1691), Barlow being the

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

; and other works. In these writings he consistently upheld the doctrine of civil liberty against the pretensions of the papacy.

Notes

References