Chapter II: Preface (2)

And since it is a fact that the religious who accepts an executorship is obliged to give a strict account of it to the bishop--nor does he fulfil his duty by giving it to his superior, if it is a matter with which the deceased entrusted him, who made election and a confidant of him--with very much greater reason ought an account of the administration of the souls that are immediately in charge of the same bishop be given to him; and although in proof of that many other arguments might be adduced, none will be so effective and so conclusive as to consider that while there were, as is true, so many so aged, learned, grave, and holy religious of all the orders present in the holy council of Trent, who propounded as many difficulties and obstacles as they could offer, yet the holy council decreed and ordered as we have seen.

In conformity with that, notwithstanding the said reply which the orders of Nueva España gave to the decree of his Majesty, the orders of his Majesty in regard to the said visits seem to have been obeyed, for ten years after another royal decree was despatched, which the said father, Fray Juan Baptista, mentions on folio 396 of the said book, as follows:

"The King. Reverend father in Christ, bishop of the city of Antequera, of the valley of Huajaca, of Nueva España, and member of my council: Inasmuch as I have heard that the religious who reside in those regions, busied in the instruction and conversion of the Indians, give out that it is a cause of great disquiet and uneasiness to them for you to send to visit them, in regard to curacies, by clerics or religious of other orders; and as it is advisable to avoid all occasions that may divert them from their chief end, especially since (as they say) it is contrary to their institutes, and is the occasion of their living disconsolate, and that they are molested: I request and charge you that when you are unable to visit in person the missions of that bishopric--in accordance with the order in my decree of June first, one thousand five hundred and eighty-five, [13] where this matter is discussed at greater length--for the said visits of religious who shall be in those missions, in regard to matters of curacies, of the most holy sacrament, of the baptismal font, of the building of churches, and all else concerning them, and the divine worship, you send religious of the same orders. Consequently, where there are Dominican friars, a friar of the same order shall be sent as visitor; and the same shall be observed with Augustinians, Franciscans, and those of the Order of Mercy, and of the Society. That shall be observed for the cases and in the manner contained in the above-mentioned decree. Given in Madrid, December twenty-one, one thousand five hundred and ninety-five. [14]

[_I The King_]

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Juan de Ybarra_"

But since it was not expressed in the said royal decree of the year 585 that the religious who should administer the benefices and missions of the Indians should first be examined and approved by the bishops; and since the remedy for the public excesses of the said religious should be limited to the bishops in the decree, if there should be any excesses even in respect to curacies--the bishops proceeding in this, not in the form ruled by the said article II, of section 25, of the holy council, but by that which is declared in article 14, of the same section: his Majesty afterward decided, for considerations that satisfied him, that the authority and jurisdiction of the bishops in regard to the above be extended further, as the holy council rules; and accordingly, on November 14, one thousand six hundred and three, he despatched his royal decree for the metropolitan churches of the Indias, one of which he sent to the archbishop of these islands, which is of the following tenor:

"The King. Very reverend father in Christ, archbishop of the city of Manila of the Philipinas Islands, and member of my council: Notwithstanding that it is very carefully ordered that the ministers who are appointed to the missions of the Indians, both seculars and friars, must know the language of the Indians whom they have to instruct and teach; that they shall have the qualifications that are required for the duties of the curacies that they have to perform; and that the religious missionaries be visited by the secular prelates in regard to the curacies: I have been informed that it is not obeyed as is advisable; that the prelates do not exercise the care that is advisable in examining the said religious missionaries, in order to satisfy you that they are competent and that they thoroughly understand the language of those whom they are going to teach; and that many of their omissions and excesses in the administration of the sacraments and the exercise of the duties of curas are not remedied in the visitations. That is a great obstacle, and consequently the Indians suffer considerably in the spiritual and temporal. I have heard that their superiors are less careful in this, and in the choice of the persons, than they ought to be. And inasmuch as it is advisable for the service of God our Lord and for mine, and for the welfare of the Indians, that the ministers of instruction be such as are required for this ministry, and that they know the Indians' language, I charge you strictly that, in accordance with what is decreed and ordained, you do not permit or allow, in the missions in charge of the orders in the district of that archbishopric, any religious to come to perform the duties of cura or to exercise that duty, unless he shall first be examined and approved by you or by the person who shall be appointed by you for that purpose, in order to satisfy yourself that he has the necessary ability, and that he knows the language of the Chinese or Indians whom he has to instruct. Those whom you shall find, in the visits that you shall make, who have not the competency, good qualities, and good example that are requisite, and who do not know sufficiently the language of the Indians whom they are to instruct, you shall remove; and you shall advise their superiors, so that they may appoint others who have the necessary qualifications, in which they also must be examined. You shall advise me of all that you do in this matter. Given in San Lorenzo, November fourteen, one thousand six hundred and three.

_I The King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Juan de Ybarra_"

With the above royal decree was despatched another to the royal Audiencia, in which its observance and fulfilment is ordered and charged; and another to the same archbishop, which only contains the statement that he is strictly charged with its fulfilment. [15] His Majesty says in it that it is advisable to do this for the relief of his royal conscience and that of the archbishop himself. Those decrees having arrived in the ships that came in the year six hundred and five, Don Fray Miguel de Benavides, archbishop at that time, as soon as he received them, presented all three in the royal meeting held on the second of June, of the said year, and they were obeyed and ordered to be fulfilled. But as the said archbishop died within two months, he could not carry them out; and consequently they were left unobserved, because the cabildo succeeded to the government of the vacant see. Afterward, Archbishop Don Diego Vazquez de Mercado, either because he knew nothing about them, or because he was so far prevented by his age and infirmity (as all know), did not put them into practice. At his death, Don Fray Diego de Arce, bishop of Zibú, governed this archbishopric; but he did not know of the said decrees. But as they have come to my notice, and since we are obliged, both myself and your Paternities, to observe and obey what his Holiness and his Majesty order in regard to this, as above stated, we cannot excuse ourselves from immediately putting it into execution.

We shall not be able to delay the observance of the said royal decree, by saying that since twenty years have passed since its issue, without having given it a beginning, it will be well to await his Majesty's will once more; for, besides that things are today in the same condition as then, it appears that his Majesty, having heard that the said royal decree was not being observed in Nueva España, either because the bishops had no knowledge of it, or for other reasons, gave it again to the viceroy, Marquis de Guadalcazar, under date of November nineteen, six hundred and eighteen, in which, inserting word for word the first decree above mentioned of November fourteen, six hundred and three, he orders it to be obeyed in the following words:

"And inasmuch as it is my intention and will that what I have ordained and ordered in regard to the above be strictly observed and executed, I order you to examine the said my decree which is here incorporated, and to observe and obey it _in toto_, according to its contents and declarations, just as if I were talking with you, and it were directed to you. Such is my will, notwithstanding that in the lapse of time, and with the claims of the prelates and missionaries, it has been winked at or another custom introduced, which shall, under no circumstance, be in any manner allowed. Given in Madrid, November nineteen, one thousand six hundred and eighteen.

_I The King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Pedro de Ledesma_"

And the archbishop of Mexico having reported to his Majesty that the above decree of his Majesty of six hundred and eighteen had not been shown by the viceroy, although he had had it in his possession for some time, his Majesty despatched other new decrees to the said viceroy and archbishop, under date of February eighteen and August twenty-five, six hundred and twenty, in which, he again orders them to observe and obey the said first decree to the said archbishop, in these words: "And since your person is authorized, not only by the council of Trent, but by the declaration of the cardinals, and by common law, to proceed to the visit for the reformation of all the missionaries, both seculars and regulars, you shall endeavor to relieve your conscience and mine."

Consequently, neither of us will by any means satisfy our obligations, if we neglect to carry out the commands of his Holiness and of his Majesty in this regard, so that we may report to his Majesty in the first ships that his royal will has been fulfilled.

From the above, and from the jurisdiction and authority conceded to the bishops over their sheep by the sacred canons, councils, and briefs of the holy apostolic see, it is manifest with what want of reason and foundation has been the assertion and declaration made three or four times by Father Pedro de San Pablo, provincial of the Order of St. Francis, in the royal courts about one month ago, while reporting a suit of the fiscals of the missions of the Indians--namely, that the provincials of the orders of these islands, and the regular ministers of the Yndias, had more jurisdiction and power, by virtue of their privileges, over the Indians in regard to matters concerning the ministry of their missions than had the bishops and archbishops in whose dioceses the said missions are located. That appears to be a universal sentiment and practice of the said religious, by what we have experienced in the course of the visitation to the Indians of our archbishopric that we have as yet made. Given in Manila, March twenty-nine, one thousand six hundred and twenty-two. [16]

_Fray Miguel_, archbishop.

[On April two and three, Don Gabriel de Mújica, the archbishopric's secretary, delivered in person a similar copy of the above notifications to [each of] the fathers-provincial--namely, Fray Juan Henrríquez, Augustinian; Fray Miguel Ruiz, Dominican; Fray Cristóbal de Santa Ana, commissary visitor of St. Francis. On June 20, the archbishop began his visits through the parish of Dilao, causing an edict of the following tenor to be published from the pulpit during high mass.]

We, Don Fray Diego Garcia Serrano, by the grace of God and the holy apostolic see, archbishop of the Philipinas, member of his Majesty's council, etc.: To you, the faithful Christians, citizens, dwellers, residents, and inhabitants of the village of Dilao, which is administered by the Order of St. Francis, of whatever state, rank, and preëminence you may be, greeting in our Lord Jesus Christ. We cause you to know that the holy fathers, inspired personally by the Holy Spirit in their sacred councils, piously and rightly ordered and commanded that all the prelates and pastors of the universal Church be obliged, in person or through their visitors, to make annually a general visit and investigation of their subordinates and clergy, both seculars and regulars, who have in charge the administration of souls. This shall include the offices that they hold, in curacies and in churches, hermitages, hospitals, and confraternities, all which should be directed to the spiritual welfare of souls--which consists in being, through the grace of God, our Lord, separated from sins, especially public and disgraceful sins, which offend His [Divine] Majesty so greatly. In order to fulfil this our obligation, we admonish and order that those of you who shall know or who shall have heard anything said concerning the father cura, your minister, who has charge of you in the matter of the administration of sacraments, or of any other person, which cannot or ought not to be tolerated by the citizens and inhabitants of this said village of Dilao, of whatever nation and rank he be, shall tell and declare it to us; especially if he shall have committed what will be mentioned and related to you later in this edict, in whole or in part, or any other thing similar to it. You shall declare and manifest the same before us within the three days first following after this our letter and edict shall be declared and read to you.

First, if you know or have heard said whether the said father cura N., your minister, has been remiss and negligent in the administration of the holy sacraments of baptism, penance, the eucharist, extreme unction, and matrimony.

_Item_: Whether anyone has died without holy baptism through his neglect and carelessness, or without confession, communion, or extreme unction.

_Item_: If you know whether the said your minister has not said mass for you on every Sunday or feast that is observed; or whether he has made any signal omission in this; and whether he preaches and teaches the Christian doctrine to you, as he is obliged.

_Item_: Whether the administration of the holy sacraments takes place with the reverence and propriety that is fitting; whether he has married anyone before daybreak, or without the admonitions ordered by the holy council, or without the notification of our vicars, and their permission having preceded, in the cases in which it ought to be made and asked for; and whether the baptisms that have taken place have been in the baptismal font of the church, with all respect and reverence.

_Item_: If you know whether the said your minister keeps the tariff of the fees--both those which pertain to him and those that pertain to singers, fiscals, and sacristans--written and placed openly where all may read it, so that they may know what they have to pay; or whether he has forced the natives to give more alms than they owe or are willing to give for marriages, baptisms, or burials, whether in money or in other things.

_Item_: Whether the said your minister is careful to execute the pious foundations and the wills of his parishioners; or whether these have failed to be observed through his fault.

_Item_: Whether the said your minister is careful to register his parishioners, both natives and those of other nations, at the time of Lent; and whether he has confessed them during that time, or tried to confess them; and whether he has, after Lent, made any effort to ascertain whether they fulfilled their duties to the church according to their obligation.

_Item_: If you know whether the said your minister has concealed any public or notorious sin of his parishioners, that has come to his notice, and has not endeavored to have it remedied by the persons who can remedy it.

_Item_: If you know whether the said your minister has not looked after the property of the church, the silver, and ornaments, and everything belonging to it; and whether any property has been lost by his carelessness and negligence.

_Item_: If you know whether the said minister, in the public sins that have come to his notice and that he has punished, has condemned the sinners to pecuniary fines, or something of value, such as wax, cloth, or other things; and whether he has failed to apply the said fines to those to whom they belong, in accordance with his Holiness's brief and his Majesty's decrees.

_Item_: If you know whether the fiscals have performed their duty poorly; or whether they live in sin, or are dishonest, or they conceal sins or concubinage; or whether they receive bribes; or whether with their authority as fiscal they have annoyed the Indians, or have taken rice, fowls, or other things at a less price; or whether they have imposed any tax under pretext of alms for the church, by their authority that they possess as ministers of it; or whether they have taken more fees than belong to them by our tariffs.

_Item_: If you know whether the choristers and sacristans have likewise taken larger fees than are assigned them by our said tariffs, for burials, funeral honors, and other things that belong to them; and whether, when any poor man has died who has not the wherewithal to pay the fees, they have refused to bury him unless they are paid, or unless they receive pledges that they demand before burying him.

_Item_: If you know whether there are any apostates of our holy Catholic faith; or who practice any evil worship; or who possess or read books of it.

_Item_: Whether there are any who are living in public concubinage, or as whoremongers; or who keep in their houses slave women, or other women or men of evil life, in order to commit sins.

_Item_: Whether there are any who have not confessed, or fulfilled the precept of the church, according to their obligation; or whether there are any who have eaten meat unnecessarily during Lent on the fast of Friday or the four ember days.

_Item_: Whether there are any married twice while the first husbands or wives are living, or who are married to relatives in the degree prohibited, without dispensation from him who can give it.

_Item_: If you know whether there are any usurers who loan money at usury and interest; or who sell on credit at a dearer price than the things are worth when cash is paid; or who buy at a less price in order to give the money advanced with the imposition or fraud and usury.

_Item_: If you know whether there are any, either of you natives, or of any other nation, either men or women, who are sorcerers, or witches, or magicians; or those who pray to the devil, or who cast any kind of lots, whether to discover theft, or to ascertain other things by enchantments and witchcraft.

And inasmuch as the above evil is a very great offense and disservice to God our Lord; and as it is advisable to remedy that herein contained that has been committed: we order, exhort, and admonish all the citizens, dwellers, residents, and inhabitants of this said village of Dilao [to make known these things], within the said term of three days--under penalty that, if they know it and do not declare it, they shall, if it be proved, be punished most severely.

Given in this village of Dilao, June twenty-four, one thousand six hundred and twenty-two.

_Fray Miguel_, archbishop. By order of the bishop, my master: _Licentiate Alonso Ramirez_

[While the archbishop was proclaiming the visitation in the church of the above village, father Fray José Fonte, secretary of father commissary Fray Cristóbal de Santa Ana, presented to him the following petition.]

Fray Christoval de Santa Ana, preacher and commissary visitor of the discalced Franciscans of this province of San Gregorio, etc.: I declare that, as I have been informed that your Lordship intends to visit the missions and their ministers of the said my order in this archbishopric--which is not only an innovation, and a thing not done by the other archbishops, the predecessors of your most illustrious Lordship, but also contrary to the ordinance of the brief of his Holiness Pius V, despatched in Roma, March twenty-four, one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven, in which, notwithstanding the ordinance of the holy council of Trent, authority is given to the religious who are occupied in the conversion of, and preaching to, the Indians, to perform the office of curas and administer the holy sacraments, with subordination to the superiors of their order, and exemption from the bishops and ordinary judges--accordingly the said my order receives violence and injury from your Lordship's endeavor. [17]

I petition and entreat you, in observance of the ordinance of his Holiness, to preserve the said ministers and the said my order in their exemption and privileges; if this be not done, I protest that I shall make use of the other powers conceded to my order by the apostolic see, and the remedies that belong to it by law. I petition justice, etc.

_Fray Christoval de Santa Ana_, commissary-visitor.

... His Lordship having seen the said petition and having noted the brief of his Holiness and its contents, declared: That besides that the said brief is revoked by a _motu proprio_ of his Holiness Gregory XIII, under date of Roma, on the kalends of March, of the year five hundred and seventy-three, by which are revoked all concessions and privileges that his Holiness Pius V conceded to the religious of the mendicant orders, reducing them to the terms of the law and of the holy council of Trent, even in case that the brief of his Holiness Pius V, which has been read, is not comprehended in the said revocation, his Holiness Pius V did not make any innovation in the rulings of the holy council in regard to the religious who administer souls being immediately subject as far as such ministers are concerned, and in everything that pertains to the administration of sacraments, to the jurisdiction, visit, and correction of the bishop in whose diocese they minister. For, as is evident by the said brief, his Holiness was requested, at the instance of his Majesty, to be pleased to decree concerning as many things as had been ordered in the holy council of Trent; namely: first, that marriages should not be allowed to be celebrated except in the presence of the parish priest or by his permission; second, that the religious could not preach without the permission of the bishop; third, that they could not hear confessions without having been examined by the ordinary; fourth, that the bishops could erect new parishes in places very far apart. [18]

And in regard to the fact that the religious were exercising the duties of parish priests in the Yndias, it was necessary to provide relief in the above four things. His Holiness, in accordance with that petition and request, decides the first three points in favor of the said religious, so that, having been examined and approved by their superiors, in the form ordered by the said brief, the permission of the ordinaries was not necessary in order to exercise their offices; and then his Holiness, immediately providing for the fourth, orders that there be no innovation by the ordinaries in the custom followed before. Consequently, his Holiness decided in this regard that, if it were the custom before the council for the ordinaries to erect new parishes in the missions administered by the religious of the Yndias, his Holiness orders that that custom be retained; and if not, that there be no innovation; and that the said brief does not treat of other things. Consequently, his Lordship orders that the visitation that he has commenced be continued; and he made declaration to that effect through the interpreter, Christoval de Vera. Thus did he decree and order, and he affixed his signature.

_Fray Miguel_, archbishop. Before me: _Licentiate Alonso Ramirez_

[Father Fray Alonso de Valdemoro, definitor of the province of San Gregorio, was then president and minister of the mission and ministry of Dilao. In consequence of the aforesaid, the archbishop having ordered him to open the sacristy, in order to inspect the holy sacrament, and to examine the adornment that was there, he said that he could not do it. Notwithstanding that reply, the prelate ordered him once more to open the sacristy, where the most holy sacrament was kept, in order that he might proceed with the said visit, "which he was to obey immediately under penalty of the greater excommunication, _latae sententiae ipso facto incurrenaa_, and four years' suspension from the office of the ministry of souls." The father minister, having been informed of the act, insisted on his reply, basing his action on the pontifical privileges of his order. In respect to the royal decrees, he said that he was obeying them, but that it was necessary that they should be communicated to his own regular superior, who had the right of answering them; "and consequently, that in virtue of the said briefs, by which he is exempt from the jurisdiction of the bishops in regard to the ministry and visit that his Excellency intends to make; and by law, inasmuch as he is not the archbishop's sheep or subject, the said excommunication ... does not oblige or bind him. Accordingly, let his most illustrious Lordship determine that matter with his superior, whom the said father is bound to obey; and, while this matter is not clear, he does not consider as harmful the penalties and censures imposed by his Excellency. He affixed his signature, witnesses being Captain Gregorio de Galarça, Alférez Antonio de Viana, and Don Melchor de Valdes, and many other persons.

_Fray Alonso de Valdemoro_, definitor.

Before me, and I attest it:

_Licentiate Alonso Ramirez_"

Thereupon the archbishop ordered his notary to read the act passed on the twenty-second of the same month, "in which is discussed the right of his Excellency to make this visitation. Together with it the archbishop ordered the clause of the brief of Gregory Fourteenth to be read and communicated to him, which treats of this visitation and the decrees of his Majesty which are in these acts, so that the said father should not pretend ignorance of it. Thus did he order, and he affixed his signature.

_Fray Miguel_, archbishop."

The definitor responded "that in consideration of the fact that when his Holiness concedes any indult, and orders any new mandate, he is seen to address himself, as is his constant custom, to the chief men, to whom it pertains to carry out any new mandate, the same law extends to the decrees sent by his Majesty, which are directed to the chief persons, to whom it pertains to answer the said decrees and mandates of his Holiness. Consequently, as it does not appear that his prelate and superior, to whom it pertains to receive and answer the said decrees and clauses of the said brief that have been communicated to him, has been notified of them; and as it is not apparent to him from the said reply: he cannot make any innovation until such time as the will of his superior, with whom those matters must be discussed, is known to him...."

Having received that reply, the archbishop "declared the said father, Fray Alonso de Valdemoro, to have incurred the penalty of greater excommunication and of suspension from his office as minister, which is imposed on him; and that, as such excommunicate, he was deprived of what excommunication deprives one; and in order that he might not allege or pretend ignorance, this declaration, stating that he has incurred the censures imposed, is to be read and communicated to him...."

Having heard the act, Father Valdemoro replied: "that, in consideration of the replies that he has given, and his protestation against the violence that his Excellency has exercised toward his order, and the lack of summons, [19] which are an intrinsic right in excommunication, he does not consider himself as such excommunicate, until information has been given to his superior, as he has said, and in the meantime he does not consider himself injured...."

After the aforesaid, Father Valdemoro took part in a procession, in which the image of our Lady of Guidance was carried to the city, so that the Lord might be pleased, through her intervention, to bring safely to port the ships that were to anchor that year in Cavite from Acapulco. The ecclesiastical fiscal was informed of it, and he informed the provisor and vicar-general of it. At that time the latter was the canon and treasurer, Don Juan Cevicós. He ordered the father to leave the procession, and by the archbishop's order he opened an official inquiry, in order to investigate the offense, and to punish it according to law, "as the said father is a parish priest and minister for souls in the said mission of Dilao, and the said offense is dependent on the visit which his said Excellency is making on him as such minister, inasmuch as he is, in that regard, under his Lordship's jurisdiction and subject to him...."

The investigation ended on June 26 of the said year. In it the depositions were taken of Licentiate Juan de Arguijo, ecclesiastical fiscal of the archbishop; Don Alonso García de León, canon; Licentiate Jerónimo Rodriguez Luján, presbyter; Miguel Calderón, presbyter; and Alférez Francisco del Castillo, chief constable of the archbishop. The archbishop ordered that the father minister of Dilao be arrested, "and placed as a prisoner in one of the convents--that of St. Dominic, or St. Augustine, or the Society of Jesus, or St. Nicolas of the Recollects of this city--the one which the said father should select. That convent the archbishop assigns to him as a prison and place of confinement; and he is ordered not to break it under penalty of greater excommunication, _latæ senteniæ ipso facto incurrenda_, and suspension from active and passive vote for three years. And in order that the said imprisonment might be effective, and not be hindered by the religious of the said order, the royal aid shall be petitioned through this royal Audiencia, to whom it rightly belongs to give that aid, in order that they may fulfil the decrees of the holy council of Trent, and a royal decree given for this purpose, under date of San Lorenzo, November fourteen, six hundred and three, directed to this royal Audiencia, and another royal decree of the same date directed to the archbishop of these islands, in which they are ordered to make effectual the said visit, as such is advisable for the relief of the consciences of his Majesty and of the said archbishop...."

The Audiencia having been asked for aid on June 27, declared on July 4, that "there was no occasion at the present time for imparting to the archbishop of these islands the royal aid asked in his name...."

While the above was happening, one Sunday, June 26, papers were seen to be posted on the doors of the cathedral and convents of Manila. They were signed by father Fray Pedro de Muriel, by order of the judge conservator appointed to prevent the said visit. He was father Fray Tomás Villar, rector of the college of St. Dominic, by virtue of two briefs of Pius V: the first given March 24, 1567; and the second September 23, 1571 _Universis et singulis venerabilibus fratribus_. He had accepted his charge one day before the said posters were put up. In those posters, Don Juan Cevicós was declared to have incurred the excommunication of the canon _si quis suadente diabolo_, for having taken Father Valdemoro from the procession the twenty-fourth of the same month.

The matter being communicated to the archbishop, "he summoned the said conservator to immediately refrain from proceeding in the said causes, under penalty of incurring the penalties established by law; besides which he would proceed to punish the scandal caused in this community by his having affixed decrees in which the said provisor was said to be excommunicated."

Father Villar replied, declaring his charge as apostolic judge conservator, and that, as such, "he must proceed in the said cause. Accordingly, he petitions and requests his Lordship to cease to proceed in the said visit, that he has intended to make in the said mission of Dilao; and that he send all that has been written and done to the said judge conservator; and if not, the latter will proceed to what is advisable, in accordance with law. In respect to the provisor, through his having incurred that contained in the said canon, _si quis suadente_, he ordered that he be proclaimed in the public parts of this city as excommunicated, so that all may know of it, and that no person remove, or cause to be removed, the said posters, under penalty of greater excommunication, _ipso facto incurrenda_ ... "

In view of the aforesaid, and considering that the Audiencia gave no support to the archbishop, so that he might prosecute the said visit that he had begun, he insisted no further on it. But "so that the aforesaid might be apparent to his Majesty, and that the latter might provide what relief he pleased, the archbishop ordered--and he did so order--a testimony to be sent to the royal Council of the Yndias of all that had been done, and that the briefs mentioned in this act be sent also ... "

At the same time he wrote the following letter to his Majesty:]

Sire.

Finding myself obliged, both by the holy council of Trent and a brief of his Holiness Gregory Fourteenth, and by the restraining decrees of your Majesty, in regard to the visiting of the religious missionaries by the bishops--respecting curacies, and that they do not exercise such office without being examined beforehand in the language of the natives that they administer--I determined to carry out so holy mandates, from which so many blessings must result to the service of God and that of your Majesty. Accordingly, having declared my purpose to the superiors of the said orders, three months before beginning the said visit, by means of a letter or notification which I gave them, in which I cited the passages of the said holy council, the brief of his Holiness, and the decrees of your Majesty, they responded to me orally, saying that they had an indult from his Holiness, Pius Fifth, in order that they might not be visited in matters touching curas and ministers of souls; and that the bishops had no jurisdiction over their ministries. I began, in fulfilment of the aforesaid, the visitation on the twenty-fourth of the past month of June, at a ministry in charge of the Order of St. Francis, in the suburbs of Manila. Proceeding to the visit, I found so much resistance from the religious missionaries, both on reading the edict, and when I happened to request them to open the sacristy in order to inspect the casket of the most holy sacrament, that it was necessary to order that under censure, and that was not sufficient to make them agree to my request. Accordingly, I declared and announced that the minister of that mission was excommunicated. For the time being I contented myself with that effort, with which, in order to avoid scandal, I returned home, with the intention of asking aid from this royal Audiencia.

But the said minister regarded the ecclesiastical censures and his prelate as of so little moment, that his subsequent action was just as if he had not been excommunicated and denounced. In a general procession that this cathedral made to the chapel of Nuestra Señora de Guia, for the happy arrival of the ships that we were awaiting from Nueva España, in which were the royal Audiencia, cabildo, city, and orders--all aware of the event of the previous day, for even the most secret thing is known in a city so small--all were universally scandalized. Consequently, my provisor, in order to avoid that scandal, was obliged to order the said minister to leave the procession, and not to furnish the bad example that he was setting by showing contempt for ecclesiastical censures. As he refused to leave, the provisor removed him from the procession, ordering the fiscal of this archbishopric to follow him until he ejected him from the procession. As it was a matter that concerns, and is dependent on, the visit, all the orders were so angry over it that, speaking through the mouth of the Order of St. Francis, they elected as judge conservator a friar of St. Dominic, the rector of this college of Manila, in order to avoid any further attempts in the said visit to the ministries of the orders. The judge conservator, without informing me of any apostolic letter or brief of his Holiness pertaining to the said conservatorship, posted decrees next day in the churches and public places, declaring the said provisor as excommunicated and as fallen into the penalties of the clause _si quis suadente Diabolo_ ... I continued to prosecute the cause of the visit, and, having found the said minister guilty, I requested aid in order to proceed against him, and, until he should become obedient, to keep him confined in one of these convents of Manila.

The royal Audiencia voted that there was at present no occasion for the said aid. Thereupon I issued an act, in which I abandoned the visit until I could give an account to your Majesty--to whom I enclose a testimony of everything with this letter, and with it another testimony of the act of the royal Audiencia in regard to the case against my provisor, whom the judge conservator tried to arrest, and for which he requested aid, which the auditors refused him.

I have written your Majesty this relation in order to comply with your orders to inform you of what should be done in this, and so that you may see the freedom with which the religious proceed in this country, confident that they are the greatest part of the community; and that having, as they do, so great influence in all these provinces which they administer, they must succeed with whatever they undertake, even creating a judge conservator, contrary to the ruling of the holy council and the royal will of your Majesty. That is so true that they proclaimed in Manila that if the archbishop proceeded with the visit, they would place him on the list as excommunicated, and would not absolve him until he should go to their convent of St. Dominic to beg absolution. I might easily have proceeded with the visit, Sire, but I preferred to be chidden as remiss, than not to have those great scandals muzzled which were represented to me to be inevitable if I went to law with these religious. And speaking with all truth, it seems to them a case of less value than that any Indian or Spaniard should imagine that there is any power in these kingdoms greater than their own. May God preserve the very Catholic person of your Majesty, with the increase of new kingdoms and the happiness of those that you possess, as Christendom has need, and as we your Majesty's humble vassals and chaplains desire.

Manila, August first, one thousand six hundred and twenty-two. [20]

_Fray Miguel Garcia Serrano_, archbishop of Manila.

_Regulations concerning the visits of religious_

The King. Inasmuch as I have considered it advisable to order to be given, and gave, one of my decrees of the following tenor:

"The King. Inasmuch as there have been many differences in regard to the manner in which the religious of the mendicant orders who have missions of Indians in their charge in Nueva España, are to be visited by their prelates, and whether it is advisable that they possess missions; and inasmuch as various decrees have been despatched, some of which have been carried out, but others, because of finding some trouble in the execution, have not been observed; and desiring to end those quarrels and establish the form most advisable for the service of God and for mine: I ordered that, the papers that treat of that matter having been collected, what had been done in that matter be examined in an assembly of ministers and other experienced and educated persons. The assembly having conferred on the matter, and advised me of their opinion, I have considered it best to determine and order, as I do by this present, that, for the present, and until I order otherwise, the said missions remain to, and be continued by, the religious as hitherto; and there shall under no consideration be any innovation in that matter; and the assignment and removal of the religious who are curas, whenever it may be necessary, shall be made by my viceroy of those provinces, in my name, the latter observing in those appointments and promotions the form, together with the conditions and circumstances, with which it is done in the kingdoms of Pirú; and it is my will that the religious be not admitted to the exercise or to the service of the said missions, or that they receive the emoluments of them in any other manner. I also order that the archbishop of those provinces may visit the said religious in what refers to the ministry of curas and to nothing else--inspecting the churches, the sacraments, the chrism, the confraternities, their alms, and everything pertaining to the mere administration of the holy sacraments and the said ministry of curas. He shall go to make the visit in his own person, or shall assign or send for this duty such persons as he shall choose and find satisfactory, to those districts where he cannot go in person, or where there is no occasion for his aid. He shall employ correction and punishment whenever necessary, strictly within the limits and exercise of curas as above stated, and nothing further. In respect to personal transgressions in the morals and lives of such religious curas, the latter shall not remain subject to the said archbishops and bishops, so that these may punish them through the visits, even though under pretext that they are curas; but, on having notice of such matters, they shall, without writing or drawing up processes, secretly advise their regular superiors of such persons, so that the latter may correct the wrong. In case that the latter should not do this, then the former might make use of the authority given them by the holy council of Trent, in the manner and in the cases when they can and ought to act in regard to religious who are not curas. In this instance I order that they have recourse to the said my viceroy, who shall appoint them and who can remove them, to represent to him the causes, so that it may be done as has been and is done in Pirú. And inasmuch as the said religious, in regard to the jurisdiction, are not endeavoring to acquire any right for the perpetuity of the said missions; and since by the aforesaid the ordinary jurisdiction is not annulled in cases that conform to law and to the holy council of Trent: it pertains to the superiors to try the causes of the religious. That must and shall be understood, without any prejudice to the ordinary jurisdiction and the right of my patronage. I order all the above to be thus observed and executed inviolably by my viceroy, archbishop, bishops of Nueva España and all other persons whom its fulfilment concerns, notwithstanding any other orders whatever that may exist to the contrary. Such I revoke and declare null and void. Given in Madrid, June twenty-two, one thousand six hundred and twenty-four.

_I The King_

_Juan Ruiz de Contreras_"

And in behalf of the archbishop of the metropolitan church of the city of Manila in the Philipinas Islands, I have been requested to be pleased to declare whether the decree of November fourteen of the former year six hundred and three is to be observed in those islands, in regard to the manner in which the said religious missionaries are to be visited; or whether the visit is to be exercised with the limitation and in the form contained in the new decree which was given to Nueva España. The matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it fitting to give the present. By it I order that everything contained in the decree herein inserted be observed and obeyed by my governor, archbishop, and bishops of those islands, and by all other persons whom it concerns, exactly as is contained in it, for such is my will. Given in Madrid, August fourteen, one thousand six hundred and twenty-four. [21]

_I The King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Juan Ruiz de Contreras_

CONFLICT BETWEEN CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES

_Case that happened in Manila in the year 1623, in regard to a fugitive who was taken from the church_

Juan Soto de Vega, whom justice was prosecuting for having stolen a large sum of money from the ship which was coming from Mejico to Filipinas, had taken refuge in the asylum [_sagrado_] of the cathedral of Manila. Desirous of escaping from the prosecution of the secular tribunal, he tried to get to Eastern or Portuguese Yndia in the month of December. He begged permission from the provisor and vicar-general, Don Pedro Monrroy, that he might be taken from the cathedral and kept in the ecclesiastical prison; and they actually kept him there, but with guards and in confinement, until the Portuguese boats left for Yndia. Then they returned him to the cathedral, where he remained for the space of eight months, until an auditor took him violently from the church on the fifth of September, 1623, and took him to the public prison. There he, in company with another auditor, tortured Juan de la Vega until they broke his arm, which caused a great public scandal.

The provisor began to take steps in defense of the ecclesiastical immunity. He demanded the criminal, and publicly declared the auditors to be excommunicated, threatening to place them under interdict, unless they would return the prisoner to the church. After the time-limit had expired, the interdict was imposed. The auditors, on the other hand, despatched a letter and a second letter to the provisor charging him to lift the censures and interdict, under penalty of banishment and a fine of 2,000 ducados, unless he did that in the time-limit that they assigned him. As he did not fulfil the command, they despatched the court constable, with soldiers, to look for the provisor in order to arrest him. They registered all the house of the archbishop, and the house of the provisor himself, sequestered his goods, broke off the locks of the cupboards and writing-desks, and ransacked his papers, but did not find him, for he had hidden in the convent of the Augustinians.

The archbishop (against whom the proceedings were directed), seconded by the public opinion, which was contrary to the auditors, summoned Doctor Don Juan de Renteria, bishop of Nueva Segovia (who was then in Manila), and various religious, prebendaries, and lawyers, and assembled or formed a council to discuss what ought to be done in such a case. The opinion of all was that the auditors were legitimately excommunicated, and the interdict rightly imposed; and that the ecclesiastical immunity ought to be sustained, and satisfaction demanded for the scandal by returning the fugitive to the church.

While that meeting was being held, the auditors despatched a royal mandate, which they said was given by Don Felipe, to the archbishop, ordering him not to retain Don Pedro de Monrroy as provisor, as he was exiled from the kingdoms, to absolve the excommunicated, and lift the interdict--under penalty, if he did not do so, of banishment and a fine of 2,000 ducados. The archbishop replied, demanding a testimony of the cause and the corresponding acts [of the Audiencia], in order to determine what he should do. But the auditors sent him another royal decree, warning him that he would be considered to have incurred the said penalties if he did not immediately lift the censures and interdict. Since the archbishop held firm, the auditors sent the chief court constable, together with the actuary of the Audiencia and thirty pikemen under command of an adjutant, at four in the afternoon on that same day, in order to take charge of the episcopal residence, with orders not to permit any one to leave it or anything to be taken from it.

At this juncture, the rector of the Jesuit college and others advised the archbishop to raise the censures _ad reincidentiam_ [_i.e._, "until a repetition of the offense"], and the interdict for one week, since they thought that the auditors would return the prisoner. That was done, and the archbishop requested the opinion in writing of the orders and learned persons, which they gave him--with the exception of the Dominicans, who excused themselves. The archbishop, seeing that the auditors not only did not do what was promised, but even issued another decree to arrest and expel the provisor, called another meeting, at which the Dominicans had no part. In that meeting it was decided to defend the ecclesiastical immunity, and that two individuals of the assembly should go to talk with the auditors in the name of the assembly, and notify them that the prisoner must be returned, or else the archbishop could not raise the censures or interdict. Two Jesuits went, and the auditors replied to them that they would not desist or turn back. The interdict was immediately imposed again, and the auditors were publicly declared to be excommunicated.

A Jesuit, who was a friend to the governor, advised him to take a hand in the matter in order to cut short such scandals. The result was that the governor decided to see the archbishop at the residence of the Society, in order to discuss the most suitable method. The interview was held, but without result. Another interview had the same result. Meanwhile it was decided to appoint two arbitrators, one from each side. Doctor Jolo was appointed for the auditors, and Father Juan de Bueras, [22] rector of the residence of the Society of Jesus, for the archbishop. They agreed that the prisoner should be returned to the episcopal prison, and that each side should desist from their claim in what was accomplished.

When the time came to execute the agreement of the arbitrators, the auditors put difficulties in the way. But, since at the same time it happened that the provisor, as commissary of the holy crusade, had drawn up acts against the auditors for the violation of his house and tribunal, against which there was no recourse by force in these islands; and since, on the other hand, the governor demanded from them the record of all that had been done (separating himself from them, as not being a lawyer) in order to inform the king: they resolved to form an assembly without the governor, and voted that the prisoner should be returned to the ecclesiastical prison, while the ecclesiastical judge was investigating whether the church was protecting him, which was what the archbishop claimed.

The victorious provisor left the residence of the Society, and with great pomp, and, accompanied by a mass of people and by his ministers, drew the prisoner from the public prison and took him to his own. The interdict was raised, to the chime of the bells of all the churches.

The auditors begged to be absolved in their houses, but the archbishop refused, saying that since the scandal had been public, the absolution also must be so. However, absolution was given in his house to one who was sick and who was less culpable; as well as to another by the influence of the Dominicans, who obtained that it be given him by the parish priest.

SEMINARY FOR JAPANESE MISSIONARIES