The Letters of Saint Oliver Plunkett
Edited and Translated with an introduction by Monsignor John Hanly 1979
I have spent several delightful hours over the past few days listening and discussing St. Oliver Plunkett with the former rector of the Irish College in Rome and the postulator for St. Oliver, Mgsr. John Hanly. I have discovered so many treasures in the Letters, pointed out to me by Msgr. Hanly, to now have a new perspective on the erudition and greatness of the last martyr of Ireland and England.
The Letters need to be studied, not merely read, not only for the history of the penal times, and not only for the revelation of the character of the great saint, but for the insights and timeliness of the state of the clergy and education in Ireland in the 17th century. Of all the many themes, all important, I chose to highlight a few references from the Letters regarding the importance of seminary training. If I had time, I would write more on the beauty of the Letters themselves, written by a great scholar of classical education, with legal training and humor.
I shall quote from Letter 100 in the book, written in Dublin, on the 27 of September, 1671. and in Italian, as most of the letters were written. At this time, St. Oliver Plunkett had some freedom to work and act in Ireland, but of course, this was not to last:
I have been a year and seven months in this country now, and I think I have given so many reports on the spiritual affairs of my province that my superiors can almost touch with their hands and see with their eyes what its condition is, and of what temper it is. In fact, it is in many ways unwell and there is the danger that the illness may progress and become more serious, if our superiors (in Rome) and physicians-in-chief do not provide us with medicines, purgatives and preservatives. Generally speaking, the lack of learning on the part of the clergy is great, despite the fact that the Irish, and especially the Ulstermen, are intelligent and quick-witted; what us is this if their talent cannot be cultivated?
Plunkett write on to state that despite his founding of schools, there still are not “men fit to be leaders or to hold controversy with Protestant ministers or laity”
He continues, “In my poor opinion it would be a great act of charity to help....give them an education in Catholic countries and especially in Rome.. Those who are educated in Rome are less suspect to the present government, which regards Rome as a neutral state not attached to either Spain or France; and besides, these young men are more loyal to the spritual interests of Rome...those trained in Rome understand better the mind of the holy see, they have grasped its principals, they know better how to correspond with Piazza di Spanga: Propaganda, in a word, all Rome is a great book”
Those who closed the Irish embassy should listen to St. Oliver Plunkett...
May I add that the great saint was also very clear as to the heresies of the day, the aberrations of sacramental life, the laxity of the orders, and the need for catechesis. Does this sound familiar?
In addition, one of the most eloquent pleas from this man was the desire for truth with regard to the lax bishops and clergy. One of his phrases, in Letter 195 notes, “As the proverb says, the blind man is no judge of colour...and thus Father..., who is himself quite ignorant, is no judge of ….'s learning.
Would that the recent Visitations would be so honest. Pray to St Oliver Plunkett for excellent clergy in Ireland, a change in the seminary training to come back to the classics and to orthodoxy.