Chapter VII

1541-1774.

MISSIONS.

Jesuit Authors who write about them—Mission of East
India—Francis Xavier—Zeal and Devotedness of the First
Missionaries—Sketch of the Life and Character of Xavier—He
Arrives at Goa—Moral State of the Town—Efforts of Xavier to
Reform it—He Succeeds but Partially—Xavier on the Coast of
Malabar—His Conduct there—He goes to Malacca—To Japan—His
intended Mission to China—Opposition of Don Alvarez, Captain
General of Malacca—Xavier lands at Sancian—His Illness and
Death, 1552—Appreciation of Xavier’s Merits—Prevarication of
the Missionaries after Xavier’s Death—Father Nobili introduces
Idolatry into the Christian form of Worship—He gives himself
out as a Brahmin—The Jesuits maintain the Distinction of Castes
among the Converts—Their way of making Christians—They greatly
exaggerate the number of Converts—Scandalous Idolatry—The
Court of Rome condemns it—Cardinal de Tournon, Pope’s Legate
in India—He solemnly condemns the Malabar Rites—Incredible
Impudence and Audacity of the Jesuits, to elude the Ordinance
of the Legate—The Pope and the Inquisition confirm the Decree
of De Tournon—He proceeds to China—His Conduct there—He is
Expelled from Pekin—His Imprisonment—Cruel Treatment to which
he is subjected—His Death, 1710—The Jesuits the Authors of his
Misfortunes—The Pope’s Eulogium on De Tournon—Repeated Decrees
of the Holy See against the Jesuits—Decline of their Influence
in India—Principal Feature of Missions—Why the Pope Condemned
the Malabar Rites—Popish Idolatry—Procession of Good-Friday, 96