Dr. Sevilla had been requested to proceed to Rome to submit to the Holy Father the aspirations of the Philippine people with respect to Church matters, and he consented to do so, provided the movement did not in any way affect their absolute submission to the Holy See, and that the Philippine Church should remain a Catholic Apostolic Church, with the sole difference that its administration should be confided to the Filipinos instead of to foreigners, if that reform met with the approval of his Holiness.[15]
Only at this stage did Aglípay admit that he sought independence of Rome; thereupon the Philippine clergy of distinction abandoned all thought of participation in the new movement, or of any action which implied dictation to the Holy See. Nevertheless, two native priests were commissioned to go to Rome to seek the Popeʼs sanction for the establishment of an exclusively Philippine hierarchy under the supreme authority of the Pope. But His Holiness immediately dismissed the delegates with a non possumus. The petition to His Holiness was apparently only the prelude to the ultimate design to repudiate the white manʼs control in matters ecclesiastical, and possibly more beyond.
Gregorio Aglípay then openly threw off allegiance to the Pope, went to Manila, and in the suburb of Tondo proclaimed himself Obispo Máximo (Pontifex Maximus) of his new Church.
His sect at once found many followers in the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan and Ilocos, and eventually spread more or less over the other christian provinces. The movement is strongest in Ilocos, where several parishes, indeed, have no other priest than an Aglipayan. This district is part of the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, now administered by the American Bishop Dougherty. As to the number of Aglipayan adherents, no reliable figures are procurable from any source, but it is certain they amount to thousands. I found Aglipayans as far south as Zamboanga. Just a few priests ordained in the Roman Catholic Church have joined the schismatic cause. One of these repented and offered his submission to the administrator of the archbishopric (Father Martin Alcocér), who pardoned his frailty and received him again into the Church. No period of preparation was necessary, at least in the beginning, for the ordination of an Aglipayan priest. He might have been a domestic servant, an artisan, or a loafer shortly before; hence many would-be converts refused to join when they saw their own or their friendsʼ retainers suddenly elevated to the priesthood. At Ylígan (Mindanao Is.) an American official arrested a man, tonsured and robed as a priest in an Aglipayan procession, on a charge of homicide. In 1904 they had not half a dozen well-built churches of their own, but mat-sheds for their meetings were to be seen in many towns. In the year 1903 these sectarians made repeated raids on Roman Catholic property, and attempted to gain possession of the churches by force. Riots ensued, religion seemed to be forgotten by both parties in the mélée, and several were given time for reflection in prison. In April, 1904, at Talisay and Minglanilla (Cebú Is.), they succeeded in occupying the churches and property claimed by the friars, and refused to vacate them. In the following month an Aglipayan priest, Bonifacio Purganan, was fined $25 for having taken forcible possession of the Chapel of Peñafrancia (Paco suburb of Manila). In the province of Yloilo the Aglipayans were forcibly ejected from the church of La Paz. In 1904 they entered a claim on the novel plea that, as many churches had been subscribed to or partially erected at their expense before they seceded from the Catholic Church, they were entitled to a restitution of their donations. The Catholics were anxious to have the contention decided in a formal and definite manner, and the case was heard at the Court of Guagua (Pampanga). The decision was against the sectarians, on the ground that what had been once given for a specific purpose could not be restored to the donor, or its application diverted from the original channel, notwithstanding any subsequent change in the views of the donor. It was probably in consequence of these disputes that in January, 1905, the Secretary of War approved of a proposed Act of the Insular Government conferring authority upon the Supreme Court of these Islands to hear cases relating to Church property claims and pronounce a final decision thereon.
Up to the middle of 1904 the particular doctrines of the Philippine Independent Church were not yet defined, and the Aglipayans professed to follow the Roman ritual. It was intended, however, to introduce reforms of fundamental importance. For two days and a half I travelled in company with the titular Aglipayan ecclesiastical governor of the Visayas, from whom I learnt much concerning the opinions of his sect. It appears that many are opposed to celibacy of the clergy and auricular confession. My companion himself rejected the biblical account of the Creation, the doctrine of original sin, hereditary responsibility, the deity of Christ, and the need for the Atonement. His conception of the relations between God and mankind was a curious admixture of Darwinism and Rationalism; everything beyond the scope of human reasoning had but a slender hold on his mind.
It is most probable that the majority of Aglipayans have given no thought as to the possible application of the power of union in this particular form, and that their adhesion to the movement is merely a natural reaction following the suppression of sacerdotal tyranny—an extravagant sense of untrammelled thought which time may modify by sober reflection when it is generally seen that the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church henceforth strictly limit themselves to the exercise of their proper functions. With the hope of re-establishing peace and conformity in the Church, His Holiness Pope Pius X. sent to the Islands his new Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Ambrose Agius, who reached Manila on February 6, 1905.[16]
It is doubtful whether the native parish priest, bereft of the white manʼs control, would have sufficient firmness of character to overcome his own frailties and lead his flock in the true path. Under a Philippine hierarchy there would be a danger of the natives reverting to paganism and fetichism. There have been many indications of that tendency from years back up to the present. Only a minority of native Christians seem to have grasped the true spirit of Christianity. All that appeals to the eye in the rites and ceremonies impresses them—the glamour and pomp of the procession attract them; they are very fervent in outward observances, but ever prone to stray towards the idolatrous. A pretended apparition of the Blessed Virgin is an old profitable trick of the natives, practised as recently as December, 1904, in the village of Namacpacan (Ilocos), where a woman, who declared the Virgin had appeared to her in the form of the Immaculate Conception and cured her bad leg, made a small fortune in conjunction with a native priest. In May, 1904, a small party of fanatics was seen on the Manila seashore going through some pseudo-religious antics, the chief feature of which was a sea-bath. Profiting by the liberty of cult now existing, it is alleged that the spirits of the departed have made known their presence to certain Filipinos. A native medium has been found, and the pranks which the spirits are said to play on those who believe in them have been practised, with all their orthodox frolic, on certain converts to the system. Tables dance jigs, mysterious messages are received, and the conjuring celestials manifest their power by displacing household articles. The Coloram sect of the southern Luzon provinces has, it is estimated, over 50,000 adherents whose worship is a jumble of perverted Christian mysticism and idolatry. The Baibailanes of Negros are not entirely pagans; there is just a glimmer of Christian precept mingled in their belief, whilst the scores of religious monomaniacs and saint-hawkers who appear from time to time present only a burlesque imitation of christian doctrine.
Great progress has been made in the direction of Education.[17] Schools of different grades have been established throughout the Archipelago, and the well-intentioned efforts of the Government have been responded to by the natives with an astonishing alacrity. Since September 3, 1900, night-schools have also been opened for students to attend after their dayʼs work. The natives exhibit great readiness to learn, many of them having already attained a very high standard—a fact which I had the opportunity of verifying through the courtesy of Dr. David P. Barrows, the able General Superintendent of Education, and his efficient staff. Both the higher schools and the night-schools are well attended. A special eagerness to learn English is very apparent, and they acquire the language quickly up to a certain point. In September, 1903,[18] out of the 934 towns in the Islands, 338 were supplied with American teachers, the total number of teachers in the Archipelago being 691 Americans and 2,496 Filipinos. The night-schools were attended by 8,595 scholars. The percentage of school-children who frequented the day-schools was as follows: In Manila, 10 per cent.; in Nueva Vizcaya Province, 77 per cent. (the highest); and in Parágua Island, 5 per cent. (the lowest). The average attendance throughout the provinces was 13 per cent. of the total population of school-children.
Education has received the greatest solicitude of the Insular Government; and Dr. Barrows informed me that at the end of June, 1904, there were 865 American teachers in the Islands (including about 200 female teachers), 4,000 Philippine teachers of both sexes, and a school attendance throughout the Colony of 227,600 children. For the youngest children there are now seven kindergarten schools in Manila, and more applications for admission than can be satisfied.