A curious statement is made and denied that the Irish
Bishops have been obliged to interfere with the playing of the
game of football in some districts of Ireland. Archbishop Walsh has been interviewed on the subject, and while denying the need of any episcopal interference, admits that in some dioceses,—though not the diocese of Cashel, where Archbishop Croke has managed that athletic sports should be con- ducted in a very healthy spirit,—there may have been ground for anxiety as to the way in which football is played. Further mysterious hints are dropped by Archbishop Walsh that the anti-Parnellite tone of some of the Gaelic Associations is most regrettable, but is probably due to the nefarious conspiracy of a wicked Government which, in Ireland as in England, wants to sap Mr. Parnell's influence. Archbishop Walsh overdoes this sort of innuendo. He should say what he means, and not hintso much. He reminds us more of one of the crafty legates of old days than of a modern Roman Catholic Bishop. As the Pope be- comes more and more a straightforward statesman, Archbishop Walsh becomes more and more an intriguing diplomatist.
Previous page
