This article examines the English and Welsh Catholic Church's reaction to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacks on London during the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’. English Catholic bishops vociferously condemned these attacks yet regularly faced criticism for their perceived inaction. Letters published in secular and religious newspapers, and also sent directly to English Catholic bishops, reveal a dismayed public who called for religious retribution in the form of excommunication. I argue IRA attacks on English soil fell into a ‘grey area’ of Church condemnation: a Catholic bishop would not comment on events outside his own nation. No Irish Catholic bishop had excommunicated an IRA member, so for an English bishop to do so would have been setting a precedent. However, the IRA’s shift to a bombing campaign in England had allowed English bishops to comment on the conflict in Northern Ireland. Subsequently, statements and actions by English bishops would directly impact on how Irish bishops could mediate the conflict in Northern Ireland. Provisional IRA attacks on London specifically garnered international press attention and greater focus on the reactions of the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, amplifying the English Catholic Church’s response more broadly. This article highlights the evolving relationship between Irish and English bishops, from one of mutual anger to one of mutual understanding, through an examination of three attacks: the Old Bailey bombing (1973); the Harrods Bombing (1983); and the London Docklands Bombing (1996). Drawing on seldom discussed archival material, religious papers, and correspondence, this article elucidates the entangled relationship between English and Irish Churches, suggesting that such a complicated relationship, at times, hindered the Irish Catholic Church’s ability to mediate the conflict and aide the peace process.

中文翻译：

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“他们是凶手”：英国天主教会和爱尔兰共和军临时袭击伦敦

本文考察了英国和威尔士天主教会对北爱尔兰“麻烦”期间临时爱尔兰共和军 (IRA) 袭击伦敦的反应。英国天主教主教强烈谴责这些袭击，但经常因他们认为的不作为而受到批评。在世俗和宗教报纸上发表的信件，以及直接寄给英国天主教主教的信件，揭示了呼吁以逐出教会的形式进行宗教报复的沮丧公众。我认为爱尔兰共和军对英国土地的袭击属于教会谴责的“灰色地带”：天主教主教不会评论自己国家以外的事件。没有爱尔兰天主教主教曾将爱尔兰共和军成员逐出教会，因此英国主教这样做会开创先例。然而，爱尔兰共和军转向在英格兰进行轰炸活动，这让英国主教得以对北爱尔兰的冲突发表评论。随后，英国主教的声明和行动将直接影响爱尔兰主教如何调解北爱尔兰的冲突。爱尔兰共和军对伦敦的临时袭击特别引起了国际媒体的关注，并更加关注威斯敏斯特天主教大主教的反应，更广泛地放大了英国天主教会的反应。本文通过对三起袭击事件的考察，突出了爱尔兰和英国主教之间不断演变的关系，从相互愤怒到相互理解：Old Bailey 爆炸案（1973 年）；哈罗德百货公司爆炸案 (1983)；和伦敦码头区爆炸案 (1996)。借鉴很少讨论的档案材料，宗教论文，