第296章

Nor is it strange that the new religion had made such little progress in Ireland. Apart from the fact that the Irish people were thoroughly Catholic at heart， the means adopted to bring about their apostasy was not of such a kind as to ensure success. The English sovereigns， their officials in Dublin， and a section of the Anglo-Irish nobles aimed at getting possession of the ecclesiastical property and patronage， and once they had attained their object they had but scant regard for the claims of religion. Englishmen were sent over as archbishops or bishops， who could not preach in a language that the people could understand， and who had no other desire than to enrich themselves， their children， and their relatives. Archbishop Browne had set an example in this direction， which example was not lost on his successor， Adam Loftus， who was so greedy in petitioning for appointments that his chapter was forced to demand from him a pledge that he would look for nothing more. Archbishop Long of Armagh (1584-89) wasted the property of the diocese to such an extent that his successor had barely an income of ā120 a year and not a house to give him shelter. Miler Magrath enriched himself out of Cashel， Emly， Waterford and Lismore， Killala， and Achonry. Twenty of the parishes of Emly were held by himself； twenty-six by his sons， daughters， and near relations； nineteen were left vacant； men "fitter to keep hogs than to serve in church" were appointed to some livings， and "in the two dioceses (Cashel and Emly) there was not one preacher or good minister to teach the subjects their duties to God and His Majesty." Craik of Kildare， Cavenagh of Ossory， and Allen of Ferns were accused of alienating the diocesan property of their respective Sees. With the single exception of Brady， the Protestant Bishop of Meath， against whom Loftus declared he could bring such charges as he would be loath to utter， hardly one of the men appointed by Elizabeth to Irish bishoprics was worthy of his position. Loftus was an impecunious courtier； Magrath had no religion except to make money and indulge his passion for strong drink； Knight the Scotchman， who was sent to Cashel to watch him， was removed on account of public drunkenness； Devereux was appointed to Ferns， although， according to Loftus， he had been deprived of his deanship on account of confessed immorality； Richard Dixon was deprived of his See within one year after his appointment by the queen for manifest adultery， and Marmaduke Middleton of Waterford having been translated to St. David's was accused of "grave misdemeanours，" the most serious of which was the publication of a forged will， and was degraded by the High Commission Court. With such men in charge of the work of "reforming" the clergy and people of Ireland， it is no wonder that the Reformation made so little progress.[100]