Chapter II: Preface (2)

In the village of San Juan de Calamba in the province of Bay, on the sixteenth day of the month of November in the year one thousand six hundred and ninety-eight: I, Licentiate Don Francisco Sanctos de Oliveros, secretary in matters [secretario del Govierno y gracia] of this archbishopric, and a racionero of the holy metropolitan church of Manila, in obedience to the decree of his most illustrious Lordship below mentioned, do certify and attest that his most illustrious Lordship, having come to make the visitation of this district of Tabuco, issued the decree of the following tenor:

Decree: In the village of Calambo in the province of Bay, on the sixteenth day of the month of November in the year one thousand six hundred and ninety-eight, the most illustrious lord Doctor Don Diego Camacho y Avila, archbishop of Manila and metropolitan of these Philippinas Islands, and ruler of the suffragan bishopric of Nueva Segovia, now vacant, and member of the Council of his royal Majesty and my master, having come here in conformity to the regulations of the holy [Church] councils (and especially of the holy general Council of Trent), and for the enforcement thereof, to visit this district of Tabuco and the places connected with it (which are the two villages of San Pedro Tunasan), and its churches, ministers, and parishioners, has observed in them a great deal of ignorance of the Christian doctrine, even of the doctrines most essential for salvation--through the agency of Licentiate Don Juan Melendez, a priest whom his most illustrious Lordship the archbishop, my master, has brought with him as his assistant for the sole purpose of giving examinations and instruction in the Tagálog language (in which the said licentiate is very expert) to the Indians of both sexes, to the old people as well as to the children, of the villages and districts through which his most illustrious Lordship will be passing. This duty he has performed and fulfilled in the presence of a great many people, assembled in the above-mentioned churches of San Pedro Tunasan and Biñan. After the questions which he has asked regarding the principal mysteries of the faith, and the explanation which he has made of each separately--some in the morning, and some in the afternoon, according to the opportunity afforded him by the time--he has preached to them, and continues to preach, exhorting them to the love of the virtues and to horror for sins. He also gives to all individual instruction, and an accurate knowledge of the mysteries of the holy sacrifice of mass, and of the virtues and graces which it communicates, as also of those which are required in order to resist the temptations of the devil; and how to secure, with great ease and confidence, the divine aid, by fulfilling and observing the precepts of the Decalogue, and the ordinances of our holy Mother Church in the holy sacrament of confirmation, which his most illustrious Lordship has solemnly conferred and is conferring. Therefore he said that he must command, and he did command, the master Licentiate Don Manuel de Leon, cura in his own right of the village of Tabuco; and his coadjutor Bachelor Nicolas Godiño, who administers the holy sacraments in the village of Biñan; and Father Miguel de Salas, a religious of the Society of Jesus, who likewise administers the holy sacraments in the village and estate of San Pedro Tunasan, which is part of the territory and a visita of the cura of the said village of Tabuco; and the curas and ministers who shall hereafter officiate in the said villages, and in that of Sancto Thomas (which is being administered ad interim by the said master Licentiate Don Manuel de Leon): that on all the prescribed feast-days--especially on Sundays, on which all the parishioners assemble in their churches to hear the holy sacrifice of mass--they shall question the people, and explain to them the Christian doctrine, conformably and pursuant to the Tagálog catechism which is accepted and approved in this archbishopric; and that in no form or manner, and for no cause or pretext, shall they omit this on any of the above-mentioned days, especially Sundays. They shall make the explanations of the Christian doctrine to their parishioners before saying mass (which all must hear)--not employing the fiscal or any other person for the performance of this duty, but doing it themselves--explaining certain mysteries of the faith on some Sundays, and others at other times; in everything accommodating their speech to the limited capacity of their parishioners, in order that these may be more readily instructed, and sooner become capable of receiving all the mysteries of our holy faith.

Moreover, considering the great abuses which his most illustrious Lordship has known from actual observation, and of which he has been informed with all certitude and proof, and the still worse losses, both temporal and spiritual, which have resulted to the persons of the unhappy Indians, with very great injury to their consciences and almost certain peril to the salvation of their souls, his most illustrious Lordship must command, and he did command, that the above-mentioned persons who are now the curas and ministers of the said villages, and those who shall officiate in them hereafter, shall not oblige their parishioners, for any cause or pretext, either personally or by any agent, to offer them anything for the administration of the holy sacrament of penance, especially throughout the season of Lent, in which the Indians ordinarily make their confessions in order to comply with the precept of the Church. And the said persons who now are, or shall hereafter be, curas of the said districts shall observe and fulfil all the above commands, under penalty of major excommunication, latæ sententiæ, ipso facto incurrenda, and of legal proceedings against their persons and goods with the fullest rigor of justice, in future visitations.

And his most illustrious Lordship, employing his pastoral kindness and clemency, and desiring to secure the salvation of his flock and the service of God our Lord, and the greater honor and glory of His Divine Majesty, granted and did grant forty days of indulgence to all the parishioners of the said villages; who, with devotion and desire to profit thereby, attend the explanation of the Christian doctrine in their parish churches. And in order that this may be made known to all the people, his most illustrious Lordship commanded and did command that the above persons who now are, and those who hereafter shall be, curas of the said districts shall make publication of the grant of the said forty days of indulgence, on every Sunday of the month, before or after the explanation of the Christian doctrine, always making known to their parishioners the great riches and strength contained therein, so that they may obtain and enjoy the indulgence with profitable results--in regard to which his most illustrious Lordship lays strict charge upon their consciences.

And considering that the visitas of the villages of San Pedro Tunasan and Biñan pertain to the cura of the said village of Tabuco, his most illustrious Lordship commanded and did command that the master Licentiate Don Manuel de Leon, proprietary cura of that village, cause this decree to be observed by his coadjutor, Bachelor Nicolas Godiño, in the said church and village of Biñan; and by Father Miguel de Salas, the present minister of the village of San Pedro Tunasan--sending each a copy, signed with his name, of this decree by his illustrious Lordship, which will be left, certified and authorized, in the book of burials, baptisms, and marriages of the said village of Tabuco. This being done, the said ministers, Bachelor Nicolas Godiño and Father Miguel de Salas, will also make in the books in their charge a certified copy of the decree--which is to be sent immediately, with autograph signature copied at the foot of the letter--so that it may be made known to all persons who hereafter shall be ministers and curas of the said districts, San Pedro Tunasan, Biñan, and Sancto Thomas. And by this decree, accordingly, the above is ordained and commanded, and it is signed by his most illustrious Lordship the archbishop, my master, as I attest.

Diego, archbishop of Manila.

Before me: Francisco Sanctos de Oliveros, secretary.

The above, a copy from the original decree issued by his most illustrious Lordship the archbishop, my master, which is one of the acts of the visitation of the village of Tabuco--which are in my charge, and to which I refer--is a faithful, accurate, and truthful copy, corrected and compared. The witnesses to the copying, correction, and comparison were Licentiate Don Diego Martin de la Sierra and Bachelor Ignacio Gregorio Manasay, a cleric in minor orders; and this document is signed in this village of Calamba, on the said day and month and year. In attestation of its correctness, I sign it:

Francisco Sanctos de Oliveros, secretary. Licentiate Don Manuel de Leon

[Another decree, dated December 7, 1698, concerns the curacy of Balayan, with its visitas the village of Nazugbu and the ranch of Lian; the curate there was Bachelor Don Juan de Llamas, with proprietary appointment. After a preamble like that of the former decree, this one continues thus, relative to the registers of the parish:]

He declared that he must command, and he did command, that the practice be continued, as hitherto, of the separation and division [of the records] in three different books: one for recording the baptisms and confirmations only, another for the marriages and nuptial benedictions, [16] and a third for the deaths; and that in no case should these be recorded in one book only; and that in the book of baptisms the names of the parents and the sponsors of the person baptized must always be set down, and whether he were a legitimate child; and note must be made of a child of unknown parents, or of the Church. [17] At the same time, they must never fail to set down in the margin the names of those who are baptized, and of the villages to which they belong, so that it may be easier to search for and find them. In no case shall men be allowed to stand as sponsors [saquen de pila] for women, or women for men, on account of the grave difficulties which have been experienced from this cause, especially among Indians. Moreover, in the records of weddings and burials must be set down the fees of the minister, so that in future visits it may be easy to compute the eighths [18] which belong to the churches, in consideration of having a new tariff to which their fees must conform. With this, in the said records must be noted in the margin the names of both deceased and married persons; and in every instance it must be explained whether the deceased person received the sacraments at the hour of death, and, if he did not receive them, the reasons therefor. Likewise, in the records of marriages not only must the names of the contracting parties be set down, and those of their parents, and those of their former consorts, if the parties are widowed; but also those of the witnesses who made affidavits in the investigations which always ought to precede a marriage--whether these be verbal, in the case of ordinary Indians; or in writing, when practice [in that art] enables this to be done. Thus, if at any time [a legal] impediment should remain, those persons can be found and punished as perjurers. Also it must be specified whether the three publications of the banns [19] preceded, which the law ordains.

Moreover, in the ministries of this province of Balayan his most illustrious Lordship has found another abuse introduced therein, that the curas and ministers of the Indian villages are accustomed to keep, for baptisms and burials, two crosses assigned for this use--one of wood, and the other of silver. The wooden one they take out for common baptisms and burials, and those of poor persons; and that of silver for the baptisms and burials of the rich--as if both crosses ought not to have the same value, veneration, and efficacy for the object to which they are directed; or as if the silver cross, on account of being of richer material, ought to be esteemed more highly than that of wood, on which died Christ our Redeemer (a thing which is disgraceful to be said or thought among Christians). Therefore his most illustrious Lordship, mindful of uprooting thoroughly this almost superstitious abuse, commanded and did command the persons who now are, or who shall hereafter be, curas in all the districts of this archbishopric that in no case and on no pretext shall they practice such a distinction; nor are they allowed to require or ask any fee on account of carrying the silver cross, whether at baptisms or burials: under penalty of major excommunication, latæ sententiæ, ipso facto incurrenda; and at any time when information is lodged of violation of this decree, proceedings will be instituted against the disobedient person with the fullest rigor of justice, without any excuse being allowed to shield him.

[Here follow the same commands and penalties as in the preceding decree, relative to the proper instruction of the people in Christian doctrine, and the prohibition of fees to the cura for the administration of the sacrament of penance. The decree continues:] Moreover, inasmuch as it is commanded, by a general decree of visitation, now obeyed and practiced by all the secular curas of this archbishopric, in fulfilment of a royal decree by his Majesty (whom may God keep), that the viaticum shall be carried to sick Indians in their own houses, and that they shall on no account be carried from their houses to the churches to receive it: therefore his most illustrious Lordship commanded and did command that the said decree shall be observed, fulfilled, and executed in this curacy of Balayan, and in its visita of Nazugbu and Lian. And, for its proper fulfilment, it is commanded that a reliquary be made of silver or gold, in order that when on any occasion there shall not be mode or form of the customary external pomp, the viaticum may be carried therein, as is commanded, to the sick; and warning is given that, on receiving notice of any violation of this decree, proceedings will be instituted against the disobedient person against whom there shall be legal cause.

All the above, contained and expressed in the present decree, his most illustrious Lordship commanded, and did command, must be observed, fulfilled, and executed by Bachelor Don Juan de Llamas, proprietary cura of this district of Balayan, and he must cause it to be observed, fulfilled, and executed by him who shall in the said cura's place administer the holy sacraments in the villages of Nazugbu and Lian; and of his punctual obedience the said curate shall notify his most illustrious Lordship, at the first opportunity that shall occur, so that, in case what is here commanded shall not be duly and effectually carried out, his most illustrious Lordship may decide and ordain what may be expedient.

Moreover, notwithstanding his most illustrious Lordship has been informed of the exterior adornment of the church of the said villages of Nazugbu and Lian, yet, inasmuch as the books of receipts and expenses of the said church have not been shown, and are not clear, his most illustrious Lordship therefore commanded and did command that in that church shall be kept a book, in the first half of which shall be set down the following, beginning at the first page, with all the items clear, separate, and distinct, and with mention of the day, month, and year: the eighths of the fees for marriages and burials which shall be received from this time forward; and the legacies, and donations for pious works, which are made to the said church. Then, beginning at the middle of the book, must be set down in the second half of it, with the same details, the expenditures which shall be made for the church, in order that thus no confusion may arise, and that the accounts may be promptly settled in the future visit. By this act, therefore, his most illustrious Lordship decreed and commanded the above, and signed this paper, which I certify.

Diego, archbishop of Manila.

Before me:

Francisco Sanctos de Oliveros, secretary.

[Here follow certificates, written in the registers of burials and marriages respectively, that they have been duly inspected, and referring to the decree itself, which is written in the register of baptisms.]

Tariff

We, Doctor Don Diego Camacho y Avila, by the grace of God and of the holy Apostolic See, metropolitan archbishop of these Philippinas Islands, and ruler of the suffragan bishopric of Nueva Segovia, now vacant, and member of the Council of his royal Majesty. Desiring to fulfil the obligations of our ministry and pastoral office, and that by the government which is in our charge, especially in the administration of the holy sacraments, God our Lord may be followed and the faithful edified; and that every one of our curas and ministers who instruct the natives--not only in this city, but those of the other parishes outside its walls--and their sacristans, shall observe the integrity which is fitting in demanding the fees which shall belong to them on account of the functions of their ministries and offices, relieving their consciences as we do ours; and having examined the tariffs which our predecessors have fixed, and seeing the condition of these islands, we have decided to issue anew our mandate regarding the said statutes and tariffs; and we ordain that from this time forth, in demanding the said fees, the following order shall be observed:

Baptisms: For the baptisms the cura shall demand the candle or candles which those who can give them may furnish, not obliging them to pay a fee [capillo], or to give an offering of money or other things; but, if they voluntarily give any free offering, [20] the cura is authorized to take it.

Marriages: For publishing the banns, the fiscal shall ask for each one real, and he may not demand anything because the parties do not rise to their feet at the time when the banns are published. As for the natives and Morenos [21] who marry without receiving the nuptial benedictions, and shall come to the church or to the cura's house, he shall not ask anything from them; but if the cura shall go, or send, or give permission for the marriage to be solemnized at their own homes, or in some other place, he shall ask three tostones for the effort and time spent in going to marry them in a place to which he is not obliged to go. If the cura shall go to their house, or to some other place where he is not under obligation to go, in order to marry any Japanese or Sangley, he shall ask two pesos, and, if it shall be outside of the parish, he shall ask three pesos.

Nuptial benedictions: He [i.e., the cura] shall ask thirteen reals from the dowry; [22] but if the parties are poor, they may commute this for four reals--and [the same] if the woman is a widow and has no dowry, provided she received the nuptial benedictions from the Church in the first marriage; but if she did not [thus] receive them, and have a dowry [she shall pay thirteen]. If several persons receive the benedictions at one mass, the cura shall ask from those who are blessed a peso from every one of them; and he shall be under obligation to say as many masses as there were persons blessed, during the following days, for their intention, because this [obligation to say mass] for two, or three, or more married pairs who receive the benedictions cannot be fulfilled by one mass.

Burials: For burials of children, with prayers read, when the cura goes to the house for this purpose he shall ask one peso and four tomins; but if the corpse is carried to the door of the church he shall ask only one peso. For every burial of children with prayers chanted, when the cura goes to the house for this purpose he shall ask only three pesos; and if the corpse be received with prayers chanted at the door of the church [23]--whether it be an Indian chief, a timagua, a Sangley, a Japanese, or a free negro, whom his friends desire to be interred with pomp and escort--and the cura shall go for the corpse to the house, he shall ask ten pesos; but if he shall receive it at the door of the church, and prayers be chanted, he shall ask two pesos. For every burial accompanied with prayers, of an Indian chief, a timagua, a Sangley, a Japanese, or a free negro, if the cura goes for it to the house he shall ask one peso and four tomins; and if he receives it at the door of the church he shall ask one peso. If the deceased were a slave to Spaniards, the cura shall ask one peso for his fee, and exactly six reals as a voluntary offering [limosna] for a mass; but if he were a slave to an Indian, the cura shall ask six reals as a fee, and four reals for the said offering. We charge it upon the consciences of the curas to say these masses for the slaves, and thus acquit our own conscience. For the cope which the cura may wear at burials he may receive one peso as an offering; but he shall not wear the cope when the parties do not ask for it. And for the halts [24] the cura, if he shall have chanted the prayers, shall ask a toston for each one, if the relatives of the deceased ask for them; but in no other way shall he obtain these fees. Item, for the mass sung on the day of the funeral, or funeral honors with responses, the cura may ask two and one-half pesos; and for chanting the office for the dead, two pesos and two reals. And for the novenary masses [25] which are said, with a response in each one, on account of the burial of the deceased, the cura may receive for each one a peso as offering; and the wax candles which remain at the end of the novenary for the burial belong to the cura. For masses provided for by will [missas de testamento], the cura may receive six reals each, and for those which are ordered to be said outside of the testamentary provision four reals each, as offerings. The curas must not consent to accept the candles that are carried by the persons who accompany the funeral, unless these persons leave the candles of their own accord, and present them as an offering; and if they do not thus give them up, the curas shall not ask anything from them. To each one of those who may assist the cura at any burial shall be given, if he is in holy orders, six reals and a candle; if he is not yet ordained, four reals and a candle. For any peal of the bells [repique] at the burials of children, or the tolling of the passing bell [doble], the cura shall ask four reals for the eighths [de octava], for the sacristy or the church.

Fees of the sacristans: For aiding at nuptial masses and the benediction, [26] the sacristan shall ask for each two reals. The sacristan may ask for carrying the processional cross with its veil, [27] for any burial, ten reals; and if afterward solemn mass be sung, he shall ask eighteen reals for the burial, and a peso for assisting at the mass; and if the cross be placed on the grave on the day of the funeral, he shall ask a peso. For the small cross carried, without its casing, and made of silver, he shall ask six reals; and for the ordinary cross of wood he shall ask two; and, if the deceased were the slave of an Indian, he shall ask one real. For burning incense at the funerals, when the parties ask for it, the sacristan shall ask two reals; and at the solemn masses he shall ask another two reals. For assisting at each anniversary mass founded in this church, which the cura says, the sacristan shall ask one peso. The sacristan is under obligation to assist the cura in the administration of the holy sacraments, and in the other matters pertaining to the ministry, as being his assistant; and if he fail in rendering such aid he shall ask only the half [of the usual fees], and the other half the cura shall divide between the person who shall assist in the sacristan's place and the church fund for its sacristy. Either the sacristan or in his place some person not yet ordained, is under obligation to carry the cross at burials.

Singers: When the entire choir shall be summoned to any burial, they shall ask ten pesos for attending it; and if all the said choir assist at mass and the office for the dead [vigilia], they shall ask another ten pesos. When the [individual] singers shall go on call to any funeral, no more of them shall go than those who are asked for by the parties; and each singer shall ask one real. This is understood when they go not as a full choir, but in a group of three; and they shall not oblige the parties to give them candles, but may take these when the parties choose to give them. If only three singers assist at mass and the office for the dead, they shall ask three pesos for the mass, but not for the office.

We command that all these tariffs and statutes shall be observed and fulfilled to the letter by the said our curas for natives, in this city and in the rest of the parishes that are outside its walls, and by their sacristans, without transgressing them in any way--under penalty of four times the amount involved, incurred for every infraction, and of being punished in accordance with the law. And no other person, whatever his rank may be, shall dare to transgress these our mandates, under penalty of legal proceedings against him, under the penalties due to those who are disobedient. We command that the curas shall keep these said tariffs displayed and posted in some public place, where they can be read and understood by all persons. And that this may be evident for all time, we command to be issued and we do issue the present, signed with our name, and countersigned by our secretary, as undersigned. In our archiepiscopal palace at Manila, on the fifth day of the month of November in the year one thousand, six hundred and ninety-eight.

Diego, archbishop of Manila.

By command of his most illustrious Lordship the archbishop, my master:

Francisco Sanctos de Oliveros, secretary.

[Here follow several notarial attestations.]

Memorial by the religious orders

The lecturer Fray Jaime Mimbela, of the Order of Preachers, and definitor-general of the province of Santo Rosario; Fray Juan Antonio de San Agustin, an Augustinian Recollect; and Antonio Xaramillo, of the Society of Jesus--procurators-general of their provinces of Filipinas and holding powers of attorney for the holy orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Augustine, the Society of Jesus, and the Recollect Augustinians who live in the said islands for the conversion of the infidels and the maintenance [in the faith] of those who are already converted therein--conforming to the new orders from their provincials which they have received (dated February 13 of the past year 1699), in regard to what has thus far been alleged and represented, make the following declaration:

[Sire:]

The reverend archbishop, Doctor Don Diego Camacho y Avila, having arrived at Manila in the month of September in the past year of 97, undertook, in officio officiando [i.e., "in fulfilling the functions of his office"], to visit the regulars who exercise the duties of parish priests, desiring that they do so by title of law, [28] subject to his jurisdiction. The said holy religious orders, having declined, on repeated occasions, to take upon themselves such a burden, making this known to the said reverend archbishop with all submission, were resolved to abandon all the Indian villages and districts [assigned to them], rather than to administer them in that manner. [They asked him], in order to preserve the tranquillity which had existed in those islands, that at least he would desist from his intention until the pope and your Majesty, being informed of the matter, should decide it: and represented to him that, taking everything into account, irreparable losses of souls would ensue from his persevering in his undertaking if the religious orders, in consequence of his violent acts, should retire [from the curacies]--since there were not secular priests to take the place of the religious in preaching and the administration of the sacraments, but it was not possible for the said reverend archbishop to yield to [even] these so serious representations, nor was he willing to wait for the decisions of [even] those so preëminent; on the contrary, he actually began the visitation. When the religious answered that now they were not parish priests, since they had resigned the Indian villages into the hands of their provincials, who had notified your vice-patron of it, the reverend archbishop took away two churches from the orders of St. Dominic and St. Augustine; and soon the commonwealth found itself in a storm, with confusion and affliction such as had never before been experienced in those islands. For within a week fifty religious who had acted as curas had retired to Manila, and orders had been given for the retirement of the others--which they would actually have done, if the courage of the reverend archbishop himself had not been taught by this experience, so costly and unnecessary, the truth of what had been often before represented to him, with so much humility and entreaty, by the religious.

From that time, troubles continued to crowd together until in all those islands the Catholic faith, as concerns God, and the vassalage of the Indians to your Majesty, were at the point of destruction; for in that country all the villages are inhabited by Indians alone, nor is there in them any Spaniard except the religious who is their minister--except here and there a village where resides some secular priest and the alcaldes-mayor of the provinces. Thus, the villages without the religious minister remain as dead, for divine worship and for vassalage, as the body without a soul is dead for vital functions.

This truth being so well known--as also is this other, that in the religious provinces of those islands there have been and are now many religious of distinguished virtues and learning, and very zealous for the salvation of souls--affairs have arrived at such a state, as is known by the said letters of February, 699, that the regulars refuse not only to be ordinaries [parrocos de justicia] and subject to the jurisdiction of the reverend archbishop, but also to act in that capacity in the manner which has been hitherto in vogue. They ask your Majesty, with the utmost possible reverence, to be pleased to regard them as exonerated from the responsibility which they hitherto have held of ministering as parish priests to the Indians, and to take measures that other persons may look after the Indians in the manner which the reverend archbishop desires; and that the religious for whom there is no room in the few convents and colleges which the religious orders possess in those islands may return to their own provinces--in accordance with what your Majesty commands, in one of his laws, for the consolation of the distressed religious in those kingdoms.

And since actions so grave in themselves and in their consequences as are these--the refusal of the regulars to be parish priests subject to the jurisdiction of the reverend archbishop, and their renunciation before your Majesty of the assignment of the territories allotted to them for ministrations--appear not to have originated only from disinclination, but to have sprung from [their claim to] liberty alone, their representatives set forth to your Majesty in this document the reasons and very weighty arguments by which they are constrained to act in both those proceedings. They also offer to present another, more copious, in which will be related in sequence and order all the occurrences and the exceedingly grievous injuries which the religious orders have suffered and still sustain, occasioned by the visitation of the curas. [It will also recount] the lands that they possess; the tithes [29] that the reverend archbishop has established; the testimonies and appeals that he has denied; the arrests that he has attempted; the banishments that he has urged [upon the Audiencia]; the very sharp reprimand that on account of him was given by your Audiencia to all the provincials together, with other religious of high standing, without permitting them to open their lips--and all with a method of procedure so unlike that which the pope, your Majesty, and your supreme Council employ on occasions like these, even in cases when there is certainty of guilt; and finally, the investigations which he makes to obtain information against them which he can use to carry out his purposes, and disturb them at Madrid and Roma, in this imposing [threats of] excommunication on the witnesses in order that everything may remain a secret, and the reputation of the religious orders be left more exposed to attack.

The reasons, then, which influence the religious not to be parish priests by title in Filipinas, subject to the jurisdiction of the reverend archbishop, are the following: First, because it is unquestionable, and cannot be in any way denied, that the office of parish priest, even with such exemption from [the jurisdiction of] the ordinary, is entirely accessory, and, besides, a heavy additional burden, to the religious estate--not only to that of monks, but even to that of the mendicant regulars; for, in order that they may minister in the said office, it has been necessary to obtain a pontifical dispensation or arrangement, which is founded on important reasons. And this [is a fact], if we consider only what the religious state demands of its followers, as is made plain by the general exemption and the teaching of holy men. If this mode of administering [the curacies] be changed, and the regular who is a parish priest must remain, in what concerns that office, under the jurisdiction of the ordinary, subject to his correction and visitation, and in the other matters subject to the superior of his religious order, it would be a change and condition of affairs so remarkable that, in regard to his estate and his profession of life, the religious would change his nature--for he would be like one cleft in twain, if subject in some cases to one superior and in others to another, the two of differing ecclesiastical rank; and the consequences would be perilous, as will be considered later. In view, then, of a change which would so seriously affect their estate, all the regulars of Filipinas declare that, just as one's state of life is chosen so as to lead to salvation only when it is chosen through the influence and vocation of God, who calls and inclines one to it, and that one's choice goes astray when it is made through other motives, so, when after choice has been made of the state and profession of life some other circumstance arises which not only oppresses that state, but changes its very nature--with new responsibilities, new obligations, new superiors, and new modes of government full of dangers and difficulties--and, above all, the rule which he professes, no one can safely add to his mode of life a condition so unusual, if God do not incline and call him to it. The religious of Filipinas declare that they have no such vocation or inclination for being parish priests by title, subject to the ordinary; and that without it they cannot expose themselves to so many dangers, with evident risk of being ruined thereby. They say that neither when they entered the religious life nor when they made their confession did they read among the obligations to which they submitted that of being parish priests, and much less that of being such by title, and subject to the ordinaries; on the other hand, they understood that the Apostolic See had exempted them from it. They assert also that on going from Europa to the Filipinas they knew that the regulars never had ministered to the Indians, nor were they then doing so, as being dependent upon the ordinaries, but with pontifical jurisdiction, remaining in all matters subject to the visitation and correction of their provincials; therefore they must necessarily censure and refuse now this new administration and attempted subjection, which they did not profess and to which God did not call them.

Nor do the precedents [brought forward] from America militate against this argument when it is said that there is but one and the same rule, and one and the same form of government, in essentials, for the religious order or orders whose sons find themselves in America and in Filipinas; for those who are in those islands say, with all esteem and reverence, that there are some things more suitable to be admired than imitated, and that, while they admire the courage [of those in America], they confess that they do not possess courage to imitate them in this matter. They add that, if in America and Filipinas a religious order is one and the same, likewise throughout the world the faith and the church of Jesus Christ is one and the same; and nevertheless, if a Catholic, simply because he had chosen an estate of life, should exhort all others to embrace the same, it would not be judicious counsel, or in conformity to the spirit of God; for that Spirit inspires, influences, and calls whomsoever He will, choosing some for an occupation, and dissuading others from that same employ. And thus it is evident, likewise, that in the one religious order some have a vocation for going from Europa to the Indias, and others have not. Then why cannot the same occur in regard to being or not being parish priests subject to the ordinary?

The reverend archbishop of Manila himself has given and still gives to the religious orders of Filipinas a very striking and conclusive example in this regard: for before he left España he knew very well in what way the regulars acted as curas in those islands, but he neither renounced the archbishopric in España, nor gave up going to the islands. He knew also that the being united as a spouse to the church of Manila is not an accessory matter, but is wholly essential to the state of being its archbishop; and that other prelates have gone thither without attempting what he claims. Nevertheless, he has asked in the royal Audiencia permission to return to España; and now he writes resigning the archbishopric, and asking that he may be allowed to come here to live and die in retreat in a cell. If it is because the religious who are parish priests are not subject to his jurisdiction that he offers this resignation--by which he abandons all that belongs to his position, and the state of life that he chose--how much greater reason the religious will have to imitate him, since even when they give up the curacies they remain wholly in the estate of religious which they professed. If he makes this renunciation in order to avoid controversies, and aspires to live and die in a cell, much more natural is this desire of the religious to live and die peacefully therein, without obliging themselves to endure those controversies; for they do not accept under compulsion a new estate to which God does not call them. Likewise, [they decline] if, in order to adopt such a model of life, their rule must be the pleasure of the archbishop, and not the inspiration of God.

As little is this first argument overcome by [the assertion] that the civil law provides that the regular who is a parish priest is immediately subject, in what pertains to that office, to the visitation and correction of the ordinary. For, laying aside the fact that such a law can be abrogated by the supreme pontiff--as actually was done by Pius V after the holy Council of Trent, and afterward confirmed by Urban VIII; and this very procedure is supported by various declarations of the most eminent cardinals--when there is a lack of secular priests (as is the case in Filipinas, where for eight hundred parishes, the approximate number of those in existence, there are hardly sixty seculars in number, and still fewer who have abilities for giving instruction and learning languages): laying all this aside, the religious assert that the civil law which commands such subjection must be understood in the case that the religious who are administering curacies, without being subordinate to the ordinary, desire to continue thus, being parish priests; but it does not order that they be compelled by violence and force to enter that relation. And if a secular cleric, to whom with canonical and rigorous institution is given a perpetual curacy, can, notwithstanding this, renounce such curacy, nor on that account be disqualified by the law as long as he lives in immediate subjection to one superior only, who is his bishop: how or for what reason can the reverend archbishop of Manila claim that the religious cannot peaceably make the same renunciation, in order to avoid the risk of having so many superiors? As the religious hold the Indian villages not as proprietaries, but removable ad nutum, other persons could, for no better reason than their own wishes, deprive the religious of those ministries, even though the latter live therein with the sanctity of their holy founders; and is it possible that, when only the will of another person is sufficient to prevent them from being curas, the divine inspiration and their own self-reproach will not be sufficient for them?

The second reason that the religious in Filipinas have for refusing to be parish priests by title, subject to the ordinary, is that no exact idea of this virtue of justice has been formed in considering the method in which efforts have been made to constrain the religious by it. For either they are or they are not capable of being really parish priests, like the secular clerics. If they are, they do not accept the parish under any obligation of justice; and even when this is conferred on them with canonical institution, they nevertheless do not remain ordinaries, as are the secular clerics; for in the latter, in order to secure a proprietary benefice, the only points considered are the ability to serve as cura, the obligation of law [justicia] to which they submit, and the canonical collation with which they are inducted into the parish. Including all this in the said supposition, the religious cannot well understand why, after all that, they do not remain proprietary parish priests. As little do they understand how the said ability, obligation of law, and canonical institution can make a secular priest a perpetual cura--so that if his conduct does not render him unworthy the curacy cannot be taken from him, either by ordinary or vice-patron alone, or by both together; while a religious who enters the curacy with the same formalities is not competent for the same perpetuity, but only for such tenure, even in his own territory, that even if he conduct himself as a saint the ordinary and vice-patron can, if agreed, deprive him of his benefice and give it to another; that is, even after that obligation and solemnity he is a parish priest removable ad nutum.

The religious also consider that although the virtue of justice is one for all, and alike for all, and the efficacy of canonical institution is also one for persons who are qualified for the same office, to the secular cleric with the onerous duty of parish priest is given all that can favor him; but to the religious, while the entire burden is laid upon him, all his energy is checked on account of not giving him all which can relieve that burden. This is all placed upon the religious, for his responsibility for the feeding of his sheep confines him to a district in such a way that his own provincial cannot, by his own agency alone, change his district without first resorting to the ordinary and the vice-patron, to secure their consent. In this way there is a notable decrease of obedience, and the regular observance of the rule which he professed is greatly disturbed; and many, continual, and insupportable annoyances are heaped upon the provincials. The religious loses in great part the privilege of his exemption; he remains subject, in so far as he is a cura, to investigations, complaints, visitations, and penalties from the ordinary; and with all these burdens he has not the comfort of being secure in his parish, even if his conduct do not render him unworthy of it, because he does not hold it in perpetuity, as the secular does. He is not master of the emoluments which the curacy yields, nor are they in justice due to him as to the secular, unless he pretends that he is dispensed from the essential vow of poverty. Then, if the religious is capable of being a parish priest, and that by title of law, as is the secular, who has given to justice and to canonical collation such efficacy as with them to furnish to the secular what is honorable [30] and favorable, yet has so divided it as to impart to the regular what is detestable, while yet denying him what may console him?

[Even] if it be granted that the regular is not competent, on account of his estate, for being a proprietary parish priest, why is it so strictly required of him to enter the curacy with the same formalities and ceremony as those with which the clerics enter? Such incompetency will be the best justification for the repugnance which the religious feel for being curas in the manner which the archbishop insists on.

The third reason is, that if the convents and colleges which the religious maintain in Manila be broken up, it can be said with truth that there are no other houses of religious community [in the colony]; for although there are seven other houses besides--in Cavite, Cebu, Oton, and Yloilo--divided among the religious orders of St. Dominic, St. Augustine, the Society of Jesus, and the Recollects, yet these convents and colleges are so small that in each of them there are only two or three residents. All the rest of the said provinces is composed of Indian villages, [each] served by one minister only; and these are such as can be gathered from their respective bishoprics, the cathedrals of which neither have nor are capable of having dignities, canonries, and other prebends. This being admitted, if the ministers in Indian villages remain subject to the ordinary, as the provinces are composed almost wholly of such ministers alone, and for their removal would then be necessary the agreement of the ordinary and the vice-patron, some provinces would come to be dependent, in the name of religious government and in the exercise of secular government, on the wills of those two persons, to whom the religious did not in their profession promise obedience or subjection.

Then if either of the two, whether the bishop or the governor, were displeased with any religious order, or with any minister--and especially if it were the governor, whose power in those islands cannot be explained, except by their remoteness--in such case they could on very specious pretexts either maintain or remove the minister against the will of his provincial; and even they could, if necessary, threaten the latter with either censures or banishment, to make that religious order conform to their authority. How fruitful a source this may be of perdition and total ruin for the religious orders, all can recognize; but only those who have had experience in those islands can fully comprehend it.

The fourth reason: for we have already taken for granted their subjection and canonical institution. If a religious who is a minister commit a transgression, and his offense apparently belongs on the one side to morals and life, and on the other to the office of cura, the poor minister remains in the condition of those goods which we call mostrencos, on account of their belonging to the first person who takes possession of them--and even in a much worse condition, on account of the controversies which must naturally ensue. For if the provincial begins legal proceedings in the matter, and afterward information of it is given to the reverend archbishop, the latter issues a decree--and, if it be necessary, a censure--commanding the said provincial to revoke all of his proceedings, surrender the case to him, and abandon it; that is to say, the right of judicature belongs to him alone. The provincial appeals to the judge-delegate of his Holiness, who, in order to obtain full information about the case, commands the reverend archbishop, with the threat of censure, to desist from the cause, and surrender the documents. If the latter do not obey, the affair may reach the point where two ecclesiastical prelates mutually excommunicate each other, and [the colony] is menaced with an interdict and the cessation of divine worship. This is not discussing an imaginary thing, but is relating that which has just occurred in Manila in a like case--where, in order to prevent the regulars from withdrawing from their curacies, [the archbishop] imposed on the provincials the penalties of excommunication and a fine of 2,000 pesos; and conversely, the reverend archbishop and the delegate of his Holiness likewise excommunicated each other. The commonwealth was disquieted by these occurrences, not knowing where these things would end if the interdict which the delegate threatened were carried out, since he was followed by the religious orders; for nearly all the laymen lean on the orders--making their confessions to the religious, receiving instruction from their teaching and example, and with their counsels calming the scruples of their consciences. In consequence, it would necessarily follow that in case of an interdict and cessation of divine services the entire archdiocese would be left in most lamentable condition; and without doubt this would have occurred, if it had not been for the kindly nature of the delegate and the urgent importunities to desist from this purpose that were addressed to him by the religious. For, since at the cost of innumerable martyrdoms and other hardships they had established the faith in those islands, they sought to avert the danger that it would be impaired, even though this should be at the cost of contempt for themselves.