The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 36, 1649-1666 / Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.

by Unknown

Book Second of the Seventh Decade

Chapter II

The attempt is made in Philipinas to subject the religious who are parish priests to the visitation of the bishops.

§ I

Relation of the practice that has always been followed in the spiritual administration of the islands; and what happened when the attempt was made to change it.

Year 1656

[In 1654 the first mutterings of the storm caused by the visitation of the regulars by the bishops break in the Philippines. The dates of the arrival of the various orders are given; and the narrative continues:]

719.... Those holy orders, each one doing its share, declared pitiless war against paganism, and achieved signal victories in that war, destroying the idols of Belial and planting solidly the health-giving sign of the cross; so that whatever is conquered in the islands is due to their fervent zeal. For they planted the faith, and watered that land with blood so that it might produce fruit abundantly; and God was the cause of so wonderful an increase. The system that they have always followed in the spiritual administration of the missions and villages which they have formed at the cost of their sweat is the same as that observed in América in the beginning by various apostolic privileges. In the provincial chapters held by each order, they appoint as superiors of the houses established in the villages of Indians who are already converted, those religious who are fit to exercise the office of cura by their learning, their morals, and other qualities. The same is also done in regard to the residences of the active missions, where those thus appointed continue the preaching to and conversion of the heathen, with very perceptible progress. Both the former and the latter exercise the ministries to which they are destined, without need of other approbation than that of the definitors—who entrust to these heads of houses the administration of the sacraments and the spiritual cultivation of those souls, in the respective territory where the convent is located, a superior being elected for each convent. This is done independently of the bishops. Likewise the definitors of each order in their meetings appoint various of the most learned and experienced men, to whom is entrusted and delegated the faculty of giving dispensation in regard to the obstacles of marriage, and the exercise of other favors and privileges contained in the pontifical briefs. Those powers are never exercised if the diocesans are intra duas dietas,[1] without their permission and approbation; and always this is done [only] in cases of evident necessity.

720. The provincials visit their provinces annually; and the said religious not only in what concerns their profession and regular observance, but also in what relates to their activities as curas. The diocesan prelates appoint their outside vicars for those territories which are in charge of the orders. They almost always avail themselves of those same religious for that, because of the great lack of secular priests. The religious submit to the visitation of the diocesan in matters touching the erection of chaplaincies, charitable works, the inspection of wills, and confraternities that are not exempt. They resist only what includes the violation of their privileges granted by the supreme pontiffs to the said holy orders for the purpose of the propagation of the faith in regions so distant. Such privileges, although not used in other parts of the Indias, ought to be maintained in Philipinas, for reasons that will be stated below. This is what has been observed from the discovery of the said islands until the present time; and the contrary has not been ordered by the king as patron, by the royal Council of the Indias, or by the apostolic see, although they have had full knowledge of the cause. This method has been practiced, both before and since the Council of Trent; and there has been no change in it—not even since the year 1652, when special provision regarding it was made for Nueva España and Perú; and it was ordered that the missionary religious of those provinces should receive collation and canonical institution from the ordinaries of those countries, in order to continue their exercise as curas; and that consequently they must submit to the visitation and correction of the bishops in officio officiando et quoad curam animarum.[2] But however thoroughly that was placed in execution in those kingdoms, it could not be carried out in the Philipinas Islands; for there even the reasons which influenced the exemption of the regulars are in force.

721. It is true that the bishops have always made the strongest efforts to subject the parish priests who are religious to their jurisdiction; but they have never been able to succeed in it, for the religious are unwilling to accept the charge with that burden. The first bishop of Manila and of all the islands, Don Fray Domingo de Salazar, tried to establish that subjection. The Observantine Augustinian fathers and the Franciscans made use of the means which prudence dictated, in order to quiet their scrupulous consciences. Seeing that nothing [else] was sufficient, they resigned their missions before the governor, as vice-patron, protesting that they would care for the conversion of the heathen, but that they could not keep the parochial administration of those who were converted, without the enjoyment of all their privileges. Therefore, his Excellency was forced to desist from his attempt, as he had no seculars to whom to entrust that administration. In 1654, the attempt was made to establish in Philipinas the practice recently adopted in the kingdoms of Perú and Nueva España by petition of the fiscal of the royal Audiencia. That body ordered that plan to be carried out, by a decree of October 22; and since the chapters of the two provinces of the order, the calced and discalced, were to be held in April of 55, that decree was communicated to them, with the warning that if they were not obedient they would be deprived of their missions, and the missionaries of the emoluments which had been assigned them for their suitable support. All the orders opposed that change, following logical methods in their defense, and averse to seeing the necessity of abandoning their missions. But at last, as there was no other way, the venerable fathers-provincial were reduced to handing over to the governor and bishops all the ministries in their charge, so that, as the former was the vice-patron and the latter were the ordinaries, they might appoint whomever they wished to the curacies.