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Archbishop Keane tells Maria Longworth Storer that he sent Bishop Richard Scannell to talk with Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val, and Scannell reported that the Cardinal’s sympathies are not with them. Princess Alexandrine Windisch-Graetz informs Storer that she met with Pope Pius X about Archbishop John Ireland, and Ireland will be made Cardinal at the next Consistory.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-14
President Roosevelt rebukes Maria Longworth Storer for her repeated attempts at “ecclesiastical intrigue” while trying to get Archbishop John Ireland made Cardinal. Roosevelt has repeatedly told Storer and her husband, Ambassador Bellamy Storer, that both they and he cannot officially get involved in matters regarding the Catholic Church. However, the Storers seem to have ignored these directives and continued to improperly write letters on Ireland’s behalf and to improperly quote portions of Roosevelt’s letters about the matter. If such actions do not stop, Roosevelt will have to remove Bellamy from his position as Ambassador. He asks Maria to return his letters on the subject.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-11
Bellamy Storer writes to President Roosevelt asking him to consider the facts, which Storer has enclosed as a statement of points, regarding his dismissal from diplomatic service. The dismissal was based on the grounds that both Storer’s conduct, in his capacity as an American ambassador, and his wife Maria Longworth Storer’s conduct in Rome, blurred the lines of public office and personal opinion regarding the promotion of Archbishop John Ireland to Cardinal. Storer defends his actions, including full and partial correspondence between those chiefly involved, to prove that he was acting in his public capacity at the request of President Roosevelt, which Roosevelt now denies. Storer is aggrieved that he was dismissed before his letter of resignation could have reached Washington since he was on leave in Egypt at the time he received Roosevelt’s request for his resignation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-18
Maria Longworth Storer writes to Secretary of War Taft about the status of Archbishop John Ireland’s possible selection for cardinal. Storer had previously written to President Roosevelt about her concerns. She offered to carry a cable directly to Pope Pius X about the president’s good opinion of the archbishop. Her intentions are to bypass the prelates who are not in favor of the archbishop’s nomination. Two copies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-27
Maria Longworth Storer continues to advocate and seek support for the elevation of Archbishop John Ireland to the College of Cardinals. She offers to carry a cable directly to Pope Pius X about President Roosevelt’s good opinion of the Archbishop. Her intentions are to bypass the prelates who are not in favor of the Archbishop’s nomination.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-20
Ambassador to Austria Storer informs President Roosevelt that Francis Augustus MacNutt has denied being dismissed from the American diplomatic and consular service. Although MacNutt was dismissed from the Vatican due to his misdemeanors, he wants to be reinstated there. Storer asks Roosevelt to look into the papers concerning MacNutt’s dismissal and wonders if Secretary of State Elihu Root has known about MacNutt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905
Maria Longworth Storer has heard that Pope Pius X declined to promote Archbishop John Ireland to Cardinal after interference from Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val, who asserted that President Roosevelt had also advocated for the promotion of Archbishop John M. Farley. As Farley represents a “foreign and reactionary spirit,” Storer does not believe that Roosevelt would have asked for his advancement. If the assertions she heard are untrue, she asks Roosevelt to write the Pope to say so.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-20