[The Dominican side of this controversy is related by Salazar, one of
the official historians of that order, in his Hist. Sant. Rosario,
pp. 490-513 (chapters xviii-xxi); as this account is long, it is
presented here partly in full translation, partly in synopsis.]
On the fourth day of August in the year 1677, dedicated to our
glorious patriarch St. Dominic, a royal decree was received in
Manila in which our Catholic monarch Don Carlos II appointed for
archbishop of Manila father Fray Felipe Pardo--who that year had
completed his second provincialate and now was filling the post of
commissary of the Holy Office. In the latter office he had given,
before this second provincialate, such proofs of good judgment that
report of his abilities had reached Madrid; and these alone, without
any other backing, had procured for him so high a dignity. The
choice of him [as bishop] was received in this community with
universal acclamation and applause, on account of the esteem that
was merited by his abilities, accredited by the experience that all
had of his success and discretion in government--not only in the two
provincialates which he had obtained, but also, as I have indicated, in
the commissariat of the Inquisition; all therefore confidently expected
in him a prelate discreet and accomplished in all respects. Our
father Fray Felipe Pardo alone, distrustful of his suitability for
that office--either on account of his sixty-seven years of age, or
in view of the difficulty of the task--was greatly perplexed about
accepting it. Indeed, it was necessary at the end of two months, to
make requisition on him, in accordance with the rules established by
the councils regarding immediate acceptance by those thus appointed,
under penalty of the appointment being annulled, and the see being
again declared vacant. [He finally accepts (November 11 of that year)
the dignity of archbishop, and by special decree of the king enters
on his duties before being consecrated (which occurs on October 28,
1681), "the first archbishop who has governed this archbishopric
without being consecrated, and the first who has been consecrated in
these islands." Having spent thirty years in that country, he has
much knowledge of it and of its moral and social conditions, and
much experience in ecclesiastical government. "He was very learned
in theology, whether speculative or practical, moral or scholastic;
and very expert in the despatch of business." He is aided in his
duties by Fray Raymundo Berart, very learned in canon and civil law,
who has left great opportunities of advancement in Espana "to come to
this poor province, to serve in the ministry of souls--as he actually
learned the Tagal language, and spent some time in ministering to
the Indians in the district of Batan."]
The church of this archbishopric was in great need of reform, being
full of pernicious abuses, which had been introduced by vicious
practices, shielded by permitted usage; so that now these alleged
right of possession, and that which was public and practiced by many
was regarded as lawful and allowable. False oaths were regarded, not
heeding this despite to the holy name of God, as a matter of kindness,
in exchange for not injuring another person by the denunciation of
his sins; and the oath which the judges take not to engage in trade
was regularly broken, without there being any one who had scruples
in doing so. The friendships and intimacies between the two sexes
were so prevalent that the excessive familiarity which was causing
so many scandals was already no occasion for them [i.e., in public
opinion]. Executorships were hereditary, despoiling minors of their
property, and never rendering accounts [of those trusts]. Trading had
found its way among the ecclesiastics, notwithstanding the ordinance
[constitucion] of Clement IX recently published in these islands; and
at like pace all the vices gained sway, without the least scruple or
reparation, since established practice and custom had now rendered
those vices tolerated. [To remedy these evils, the archbishop
vigorously devotes his energies, notwithstanding his age.]
The first action with which his illustrious Lordship began to carry
out this plan in the government of his archbishopric was, to reconcile
his cabildo with the royal Audiencia in a certain controversy between
them. This was, whether they should give the gospel to be kissed,
not only by the auditor who then provisionally held the government
of these islands (he was Don Francisco Mansilla), but also by his
associate, Doctor Don Diego Calderon. As soon as the archbishop began
to rule, he settled this dispute with great sagacity, and much to the
satisfaction of both sides. Afterward another strife arose between
the ecclesiastical estate and the royal officials, because, at the
time of paying the former their stipends, these were curtailed on
account of the exemption from the mesada which had been conceded
by his Holiness to our Catholic king; and, the amount of what the
ecclesiastics ought to contribute on account of this privilege not
being liquidated, the official royal judges had acted illegally in
the collection of the said mesada, making themselves judges in their
own cause by explaining the bull of his Holiness without consenting
to show it to the interested parties, although the latter had several
times demanded this. But our archbishop, recognizing that what the
royal officials were collecting was excessive, and that it belonged
to his office and dignity to explain the doubts that might arise in
the text of the apostolic bulls, compelled the royal official judges,
by dint of monitory decrees and censures, to display that privilege;
and when it was seen, it was found that they had collected more than
they should for several years past. All this he made them restore,
with considerable advantage to the ecclesiastics, who were extremely
grateful for the zealous activity of his illustrious Lordship.
In almost all the Indias were being celebrated the masses which
they call "masses for Christmas," [148] mingling with them certain
abuses which contaminated these masses with practices that were
superstitious, and contrary to the holy rites of the church. These
were tolerated under the cloak of devotion, and, although to some
they appeared mischievous, they did not dare to rebuke these rites
in public lest they excite against themselves the pious feelings of
the common people, and as this matter was one of those which belong
to the zeal and foresight of the ecclesiastical superiors. Finally
the holy Congregation of Rites, in consequence of the representations
made by zealous persons, on January 16 in the year 1677 declared the
said "masses for Christmas" to be not only opposed to the rubrics,
but also cause for scandals, and of superstitious nature, on account
of certain ballads that were interwoven with them, and other like
abuses. This decree of the Congregation arrived in these islands
in the year eighty; acting in conformity thereto, the archbishop
prohibited the said masses in his archbishopric. They were no longer
celebrated while his illustrious Lordship lived, although afterward
they were again established, but with some abatement--I know not
whether it was so everywhere--of the abuses which formerly were
customary. He also prohibited under severe penalties the practice
of bringing sick persons to the church to receive holy communion
by way of viaticum--a custom introduced into these islands from
the infancy of their Christian faith. It had never been entirely
uprooted, although ordinances against it had been issued by various
zealous prelates in their decrees, and by our Catholic monarchs in
their royal cedulas--commanding that the holy viaticum should be
carried to the houses of the sick, even though they were poor and
of low estate, as are the natives of these islands. And because the
previous ordinances of the king our sovereign on this subject had not
had the desired effect, his Majesty again repeated his commands in a
royal decree of July 28, 1681, in which he charged our archbishop to
banish this abuse, the custom of carrying the sick to the church to
receive the holy viaticum, on account of the difficulties which might
follow from it. In accordance with this, our archbishop promulgated
an edict throughout his diocese, dated September 5, 1682, commanding
that all the parish priests should carry the viaticum to the sick,
without permitting them to be brought to the church; and although
he received from the parish priests entreaties and arguments on
this point, his illustrious Lordship did not listen to them, but
courageously proceeded in his holy undertaking.
Besides those exceedingly just measures, at the instance of the royal
Audiencia of these islands his illustrious Lordship promulgated an
edict--which was affixed to the doors of the churches, with penalty
of major excommunication--that all executors of wills must within two
months present before his tribunal the said wills, which had not been
inspected for fourteen years past; and so numerous were those that
were presented--not to mention others dating back to forgotten times,
which were not yet accomplished--that they gave him work sufficient
for several years. He issued other edicts and monitory decrees in
regard to the denunciation of various crimes, and so many of these
were continually disclosed that soon the ecclesiastical tribunal was
tilled with cases, and the numerous officials in its employ could not
make room for the legal proceedings therein. Very scandalous lives
were revealed, and criminal suits were begun; but these could not be
prosecuted on account of appeals and subterfuges which caused delay.
He who attempts to correct abuses and scandals finds it necessary
to equip himself with courage to meet the hostilities which he will
encounter; for abuses which have already become inveterate, and
scandals favored by indulgence, cannot be overcome without strenuous
efforts and repeated conflicts. Such was the case of a certain prebend
whom the predecessor of his illustrious Lordship had tried to correct,
but had never been able to do so on account of the support that the
delinquent received from a certain potent personage; accordingly the
archbishop's zeal contented itself with giving information of the
whole matter to the king our sovereign--who issued on this matter a
royal decree commanding the said archbishop to correct the scandalous
acts of that prebend, without fear or regard for any power. As
this royal decree arrived at Manila when the said archbishop was
already dead, the king our sovereign despatched another decree to our
archbishop-elect, Don Fray Felipe Pardo, very earnestly recommending
to him the correction of the transgressions of the said prebend. [149]
Notwithstanding the activity of our archbishop, he could not end the
proceedings in this case for eight years, on account of the evasions
of the culprit, and the protection that he found in the officials of
the royal Audiencia, who at every step forbade our archbishop to take
any further steps in the prosecution of the suits, thus preventing
his holy zeal from successfully checking abuses and scandals.
This was made more plainly evident in the suit regarding another
ecclesiastic, the cura of Bigan, against whom the provisor appointed
by his illustrious Lordship (since the government of that bishopric
pertained to him) began to institute proceedings in a criminal suit,
in consequence of various denunciations and accusations. As the
culprit was on intimate terms with one of the auditors, the latter
managed the affair so dexterously that he caused the issue of a
royal decree in which the royal Audiencia commanded the archbishop
to remove thence [i.e., from Vigan] the said provisor and oblige
him to reside in the city of Lalo all to the end that he should not
proceed in the suit. This measure was ineffectual, on account of
the reply and representations made by the archbishop; the provisor
therefore proceeded in his suit. The delinquent, finding himself
in a tight place, fled from Bigan and came to Manila; and, when he
was arrested by the archbishop for this flight, he demanded to be
released on bail--which his illustrious Lordship granted, by an act
in which he designated the city as the prisoner's bounds until his
suit should be ended. The culprit consented to this, thanking his
illustrious Lordship for this concession, and therewith submitting to
his tribunal. Affairs being in this condition, there came [in 1680],
with proprietary appointment as bishop-elect of Nueva Segovia,
a prebend of this holy church, who was an intimate friend of the
culprit; the latter, availing himself of this opportunity, undertook
to shake off the yoke of his illustrious Lordship's authority with an
appeal to the new bishop-elect--who, desiring to shelter the other,
demanded from the archbishop the acts [which he had issued]. As his
illustrious Lordship did not choose to furnish these--as this suit
was firmly established, by the consent of the delinquent himself,
in his metropolitan tribunal--the new bishop had recourse to the
royal Audiencia, asking them to command the archbishop to deliver the
acts. In virtue of the representation made by the new bishop, a royal
decree was despatched to Senor Pardo, in which he was commanded to
deliver the said acts to the bishop of Nueva Segovia; his illustrious
Lordship answered this by saying that the suit proceedings therein
were already established in his own tribunal by the delinquent
having accepted certain acts, and the law, therefore, afforded no
occasion for removing this suit and the proceedings therein from
the tribunal of the metropolitan, and restoring it to the culprit's
ordinary judge. His illustrious Lordship well knew that all these
were frivolous measures of delay, so that the case might not reach the
point of sentence, and the scandals should be left without restraint,
accordingly, although the second and the third royal decrees on this
matter were served upon him, he never consented to yield his rights,
or to acquiesce in the illegal commands laid upon him. For this cause
the officials of the royal Audiencia issued a fourth royal ordinance
and decree, condemning our archbishop to exile; this sentence was not
executed at the time, but with occasion of the new emergencies which
afterward arose, it was enforced with severity in the following year.
Now that the archbishop was on bad terms with the royal Audiencia,
it was easy for the subordinates of his illustrious Lordship to
have recourse to this supreme tribunal in order to challenge the
jurisdiction or appeal from the proceedings of the ecclesiastical
judge; and therefore royal decrees were continually emanating,
forbidding our archbishop to prosecute suits and proceedings, and
commanding him to deliver up the documents regarding them--by which the
course of the suits was hindered or delayed. His illustrious Lordship
answered these requisitions with so much clearness and proof that the
officials who issued them often considered themselves vanquished, and
did not follow up their efforts; and although they resented what they
called rebellion and audacity, they found his opposition so justified
by law that they did not dare to condemn him for disobedience,
no matter how much they chose to give his conduct this title to
outsiders--for these tribunals are not accustomed to hear "no" to
what they ordain in the name of the king our sovereign. And knowing
that the greater force of the replies and representations of the
archbishop depended on the assistance of the consultor, father Fray
Raymundo Berart, they strove to separate the latter from his side,
in order that his illustrious Lordship, destitute of this aid, might
be reduced with more blind submission to the decrees and despatches
of the royal Audiencia; and therefore that court issued a mandate
demanding and requiring our archbishop to remove from his side Father
Berart, and another to the same effect, addressed to our provincial,
to assign that father to a ministry among the Indians. Suitable reply
was made to both these decrees, without causing any change, for the
time, in the aspect of affairs--until, a new occasion and emergency
arising, they again insisted upon this point.
At the first foundation of Manila, only two parishes were formed for
the Spaniards--one for those who lived within the walls, and another
for those who lived outside the city, this latter being located in a
place where at that time most of them were wont to live. Afterward that
site appeared to them unsuitable for the conveniences of human life,
and so they went to live in another part of the city, and even on
the other side of the river which washes it. Consequently, they lived
very far from their parish church, and suffered great inconvenience in
attending it, because it was necessary for the administration of the
sacraments that the parish priest should cross the entire city, or make
the circuit of its walls, and finally he had to cross the river. As
this often had to be done at night, and at other times with the risk
of being drowned through the fury of the winds and waves, it was soon
evident how great difficulty there must be in giving prompt aid to
the sick--especially as the distance of the parish church was so great
that many parishioners lived half a legua from it. On this account the
burials also were solemnized with extreme inconvenience, and without
the processional order which is the custom of the church. Besides
this, it caused great confusion that the Spaniard who was owner of
the house should belong to the said parish, and the servants, whether
Indians or negroes, to that of the territory in which they happened
to be. The Spaniards also were ashamed of having a parish church so
poor and in so wretched a condition, for it was only a shelter of
bamboos covered with nipa. For these reasons the parishioners had at
various times asked that they might be joined to the parishes in which
they lived; and now, on the occasion of a controversy which arose
between the said cura and another parish priest over the question,
to which of them belonged [the interment of] a deceased person,
the Spaniards publicly appeared before the ordinary, asking that he
would assign the parish churches according to the territories, in
accordance with the custom throughout the church. When this request
was considered by his illustrious Lordship, he gave information of it,
and a copy of the petition, to the vice-patron, to whom this matter
pertained by law. The governor showed this to the fiscal of his
Majesty, who approved the desired change; and with this decision the
governor decreed that the parishes should be divided according to the
territories. He gave commission for this to his illustrious Lordship,
who divided and allotted the parishes in the suburbs of Manila, with
the system and order which are observed to this day declaring that to
each parish church belonged all the persons who dwelt in its territory,
whether Spaniards, Indians, or negroes.
Notwithstanding that this arrangement was in every way so judicious,
and had been made by the order of the vice-patron, with the approval
and advice of the auditor fiscal, the former cura of the Spaniards
considered it an injury and injustice, casting the blame for it all on
his illustrious Lordship; and, making common cause with the clergy,
he continued to disturb and disquiet their minds, until finally
the cabildo arrogated to itself authority, interposing a letter to
his illustrious Lordship that was very offensive to his dignity,
complaining of the severity of his government, in terms that libeled
his uprightness, and other expressions that were very unbecoming and
inappropriate to the dignity of a cabildo. Accordingly, for the sake
of their reputation, his illustrious Lordship was not willing to make
the document public, and he only showed it privately to the governor
of these islands--who was deeply irritated at what they had done,
and promised all his protection to the archbishop for correcting
his prebends. The archbishop did not choose to avail himself of
this aid, because he intended to bring them back to sober judgment
by means of kindness and gentle treatment. He therefore replied to
his cabildo with another pastoral letter, couched in affectionate
terms, and full of learning and paternal affection in which he gently
admonished them to recognize and correct their error. Again they
wrote to his illustrious Lordship, in more submissive tone, although
it was apparently only to pay him compliments; for almost on the same
day they appeared before the royal Audiencia with another document,
making complaint against their prelate of injuries, and saying that
although they had represented these to his illustrious Lordship,
he had not answered them to the point. The effect of this petition
was, that the royal Audiencia issued new commands, not only to the
archbishop but to the father provincial of this province, that father
Fray Raymundo Berart (of whom the cabildo bitterly complained) must
leave his association with his illustrious Lordship, and depart to the
ministries among the Indians; this was carried out (at the instance of
the father himself), in order to wreak the wrath of those who were in
power. On this occasion the royal Audiencia also ordered that a secret
investigation be made of the lives and conduct of our religious,
commencing with the archbishop; and, although a beginning was made
in the fabrication of this information, the plan soon fell through on
account of another and public report which was made, by command of the
archbishop, in favor of the religious--in which their reputation was
so well vindicated by testimony that those who undertook to blacken
it through the secret inquiry were left confounded and abashed.
All these occurrences that we have mentioned were preludes and omens
of some outbreak; for the minds of the people were disquieted, and
jealousy of the archbishop was plainly evident on the part, not only
of the clergy, but of the secular government. They were eager for some
fresh opportunity to arise for them to take extreme measures at once
against the archbishop, or at least against the religious of this
province. This soon occurred, in a sermon that was preached in the
cathedral by a certain religious, [150] in which he explained moral
principles that were pertinent to the disorders then prevailing. The
auditors, who were present, began to resent this; and one of them
urged the governor to send a message to his illustrious Lordship,
asking him to order the preacher to leave the pulpit. The governor
did so, in fact: but he himself assumed authority to do this, before
his illustrious Lordship's answer came, and ordered the preacher to
stop his sermon, and proceed with mass--an act extremely injurious
to the dignity of the archbishop, that in his own church, and before
his eyes, the governor (a secular official, too) should interfere
to give commands to the ministers of the church. But his illustrious
Lordship was obliged to overlook this, in order not to cause greater
disturbances or expose his episcopal dignity to the insults of those
who had already, it appears, pronounced judgments in defiance of the
courts of the church, and were only awaiting an opportunity to assail
his jurisdiction and dignity. His illustrious Lordship did not choose
to afford this to them, at that time, although zeal stimulated him to
defend the honor of the mitre; for affairs were now in such condition
that he would [by doing so] cause more injury than benefit.
Notwithstanding the tolerance and patience of the archbishop, on the
second day after the sermon sentence was passed in the royal Audiencia,
in accordance with the representations made by the ecclesiastical
cabildo, against the preacher, condemning him to imprisonment and to
banishment from these islands. This was carried out on the following
day; Villalba was arrested in his convent of Binondoc and conveyed
through the public streets, being finally placed on board a vessel,
in which he was sent to a remote island until the time should come
for embarking him for Nueva Espana. This was accomplished in due time,
with great injury and hardship to that religious, and not less grief
to the archbishop at seeing such dreadful disorders, and even his
zeal powerless to remedy them; for these disturbances had now reached
such a point, and his subordinates had now become so hard-hearted and
rebellious, that they had already lost their dread of [committing]
sacrilegious acts, and did not fear to lay violent hands on the
persons of ecclesiastics and religious. Accordingly, foreseeing from
these acts of violence that which might result to his own person if
some new occasion should arise, his prudence caused him to prepare
beforehand for what might occur in such an emergency, by an act which
he drew up with the utmost secrecy, dated on the twenty-second of the
same month of January in the year 1682. By this act he appointed, for
any such occasion, as governor of the archbishopric the illustrious
Don Fray Gines Barrientos, bishop of Troya and his own assistant; and
made other arrangements--which were mild and reasonable, and worthy of
his apostolic zeal, piety, and gentleness--that would tend to quiet
the disturbances which would arise from any such act of violence,
and to favor absolution from the censures which would necessarily be
incurred by persons who should commit such acts of irreverence. All
this was laid away and kept with great secrecy until the following
year, in which occurred the imprisonment of the archbishop.
These melancholy events did not daunt the fervent courage of his
illustrious Lordship; rather, with apostolic valor and zeal he
proceeded in the correction of evil deeds, notwithstanding that he
had reliable information that his case was already concluded in the
royal Audiencia and sentence of banishment pronounced against him. He
was continually menaced with the execution of this sentence, at every
new difficulty which might arise--in this being like the great pastor
Jesus Christ, who, the nearer He foresaw His arrest, so much the
more freely rebuked vices. It is true that our archbishop in order to
give place to wrath and avoid hostilities, judiciously dissimulated
in some points which concerned his person or his privileges--for many
were the incivilities shown to him at every turn by the members of his
cabildo, who disregarded the customary forms of politeness toward him;
and again, at critical moments in the controversies which arose between
the governor and the archbishop, the latter tried to yield what was his
right, or to overlook the lack of courtesy. But when offenses against
God, or attacks on his church or his episcopal dignity, came in his
way, his apostolic zeal did not allow him to overlook these--the
more, as he was needed by the aggrieved party on account of points
of justice intervening at the time. And of such character were the
events which occurred in the course of this year, and were the final
incentive to the acts of violence committed against his illustrious
Lordship--his zealous attempt to restrain certain ecclesiastics from
carrying on trade and traffic, to which they were greatly addicted and
devoted, in contravention of the pontifical decrees, especially of
a recent ordinance by Clement IX which prohibited the said commerce
to ecclesiastics; and likewise his having endeavored to compel an
executor to render an account of the estate which he had in his charge.
These were the chief motives for the arrest and banishment of our
archbishop; for, the same persons [i.e., the Jesuits] being concerned
in both of those incidents, they again disturbed people's minds, and
stirred them up anew against his illustrious Lordship. Past disputes
seemed lulled, and affairs had been smoothed over and adjusted,
although anger against the firmness and activity of his illustrious
Lordship remained alive; and now the unusual character of these
incidents revived again the old complaints--those who were parties in
this affair uniting with those who were angry at what had previously
occurred. All joined in clamors against the archbishop, treating him
as turbulent, seditious, prejudiced, contumacious, and the like; and
from various speeches and conversations this opinion steadily grew--all
regarding as already certain and evident what originated only in their
mistaken prejudices, and with this basis easily reaching a conclusion
(as occurred with the majesty of Christ)--that it was necessary to
remove his illustrious Lordship from their midst, in order to quiet
the anxieties and disturbances which had grieved all the estates of
the commonwealth. So in the execution of this their undertaking they
did not observe the method and plan which is prescribed in the laws
for cases of so great importance--for there was now no disobedience
or contumacy to a second or third royal decree, or interference with
the royal patronage, or other like causes or motives which could
justify so audacious an act. And solely at hearing the reply of his
illustrious Lordship to two royal decrees, which at the very same time
were communicated to him in regard to different matters--each one of
these being the first one which was issued, in both cases--all the
officials of the royal Audiencia were so irritated that immediately
they proceeded to decree that the sentence of banishment and [loss of]
secular revenues, [temporalidades] which had been pronounced against
his illustrious Lordship in the preceding year, must be executed.
But the controversy of that year was now ended, and the parties
now reconciled, and therefore the cause of this action was not past
but present disputes. These were: that his illustrious Lordship had
refused to absolve a contumacious executor whose name he had posted
as excommunicate; and that he had replied to the royal decrees with
apostolic freedom and liberty--in both these acts displaying his
constancy, and zeal for maintaining his jurisdiction unimpaired. [On
March 29, 1683, the Audiencia decree that the sentence of banishment
be carried out, but it is suspended for two days, that the necessary
preparations may be made secretly, in order to avoid disturbances
like those connected with Archbishop Guerrero's banishment. Pardo
is arrested at midnight, by a large body of officials and soldiers,
and immediately deported to Pangasinan, [151] "where the alcalde of
that province had strict orders to detain his illustrious Lordship
there, without allowing him to leave the provincial capital, or to
perform any act of jurisdiction [152] or authority pertaining to his
episcopal dignity, or to correspond by letter with Manila." On the
same day, various persons are arrested as officials or near friends of
the archbishop. The provisor takes refuge in the Dominican convent,
which is at once surrounded by soldiers, an auditor threatening to
demolish it with artillery; at this, the provisor surrenders himself
to the assailants, but "with certain precautions and securities," and
is kept under guard in his own house. Guards are also placed "at the
bell-towers of certain churches, so that the bells might not be rung
for an interdict. All the household furniture and personal property
[espolio] of the archbishop was confiscated, and placed in the royal
magazines--scrutiny being first made of the most private papers of
his illustrious Lordship, without finding in them anything by which
his enemies could calumniate him."]
The bishop of Troya, Don Fray Gines Barrientos, who had been appointed
governor of the archbishopric by his illustrious Lordship for this
emergency, when he learned of the arrest of the archbishop immediately
presented to the cabildo the document appointing him; but that body
appealed to the royal Audiencia, and, with either their expressed
or their tacit approval, took possession of the government of the
archbishopric. They declared that the banishment of the archbishop must
be construed as the vacation of his see, although their action might
better be called a spiritual adultery--for, while the spouse of this
church was still living, the cabildo intruded their presence in order
to abuse her; and, although in reality they were but sons and subjects,
they had the audacity to occupy their father's marriage-bed. At the
head of this action was the dean, who with dexterity and artifice
lured on the rest to consent to this monstrous deed; and because
one, a racionero, would not consent, they thrust him out of the
chapter-room. Government by the cabildo having been declared, it
was an easy thing for this same dean to cause them to appoint him
as provisor; and in virtue of this fantastical jurisdiction he went
on undoing what had been done, and making blunders--liberating all
those who had been imprisoned by the [ecclesiastical] tribunal,
[153] giving permission to all the clerics to hear confessions,
absolving ad cautelam the excommunicated (especially the executor
[i.e., Ortega] who had been publicly posted), and promulgating an
Octavian peace, like that of which the prophet says, Dicunt, "pax,
pax," et non erat pax. [154]
Among this confusion of affairs, the perplexity that existed in the
consciences of men was very noticeable: for some, endeavoring to
flatter those who were in power, gave their approval to all that
these had done, saying that they had not incurred any censure,
and that the jurisdiction of the cabildo was valid; but others,
with more pious judgment, regarded the said jurisdiction as either
fanciful or monstrous, and therefore felt scruples regarding all
their transactions--and not least in regard to intercourse with
those persons who had taken part in the arrest of the archbishop
and other ecclesiastics. This was the feeling of our religious, and
therefore they endeavored to refrain from intercourse with [those]
secular persons, that they might not incur danger from having
communication with excommunicated persons. [155] This withdrawal
being resented by the parties concerned, they began to calumniate us
as inciters of sedition, saying that with our scruples we disturbed
the peace which the cabildo and their dean had striven to introduce
in this community. In consequence of this, the father provincial was
notified, in the following year, of a decree by the royal Audiencia
in which he was charged and commanded to banish three religious,
the most prominent in his province, to the kingdom of Nueva Espana;
and to send to the province of Cagayan two others, who were lecturers
in theology--all because the Audiencia had concluded that the said
religious, as being the most learned and serious, would persuade the
rest to their own opinion. The father provincial replied to this that
the said religious were not at all to blame, since he had ordered
them to withdraw from intercourse with those who were excommunicated;
[156] then they pronounced against him also sentence of banishment,
which was executed with great severity on the father provincial
and his associate, accompanied by the acts of violence which are
mentioned in the first book. [157] ... The archbishop was very
contented in that place of his banishment, but so poor and needy
in temporal revenues that for his ordinary support he was confined
to what was given him for food by the religious who was minister in
that village; he therefore resided in the convent, like any private
brother in the order, and practiced the duties of [a member of] the
community as if he were a subordinate of the vicar of that house. But
outside of food and clothing he had nothing even for almsgiving; and
therefore in the letter that I have mentioned--written to a lay friend,
a citizen of this city of Manila--his illustrious Lordship asks that,
for the love of God, his friend will send him some rosaries, medals,
and like articles, so that he can make some return for the little
presents which the Indians give him. And by way of acknowledgment for
the hospitality which they had showed him in the convent of Lingayen,
he left in it his sole possession, a piece of the wood of the holy
cross--which he valued highly because it had been sent to him by the
supreme pontiff when the latter issued the bulls for his appointment
to this see. In this exile our archbishop remained during a period
of about twenty months, until at last a new opportunity arose, by
which he was restored to his see by the royal Audiencia.
In the year 1684 a new governor came to these islands, and as soon
as he entered upon his office he began, as an unprejudiced party,
to recognize the blind way in which action had been taken in these
proceedings, and the injuries and bad consequences which might
be feared if affairs continued in this state, especially as the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the cabildo was losing repute [estando
en opiniones]. For the remedy of so many evils, he made arrangements
with the ministers of the royal Audiencia that the archbishop should
be restored to his see; and this was actually carried out, by decree
of that royal tribunal, in which the ministers of the royal Audiencia
admit that the ecclesiastical jurisdiction had been snatched from
the archbishop--as if this could be thus taken away, and especially
by lay and secular officials!
Notwithstanding that the decree for the restitution of the archbishop
had gone out from the royal Audiencia, it took much persuasion to
make him acquiesce in returning to his see. One reason was, that he
was not willing to return until his Holiness and the Council should
decide his cause; the other, that he saw the affairs of his church in
such a condition that it was almost impossible to set them right. But
finally, at the entreaties of good men, and as persons very influential
in this colony had gone to bring back his illustrious Lordship, he
made the decision to return to Manila, where he was received with
universal rejoicing and applause.... The holy pastor went about,
looking up his flock, and when he saw it so injured and despoiled by
the abuses, errors, and evil consequences which had been occasioned
by the usurping jurisdiction of the cabildo--and, above all, by the
censures in which so many were involved, affecting the liberty of
their consciences, with disregard for our holy mother the Church--he
undertook to procure the reconciliation of the accused persons,
inducing them first to acknowledge their errors. First of all,
through the intercession of the new governor absolution was given
in private to the auditors (who had been active in his arrest and
in those of other ecclesiastical persons), they humbling themselves
to ask for absolution with certain demonstrations of reverence. The
members of his cabildo he absolved in public, with all the customary
preparations and ceremonies; and the same thing was done with other
persons, laymen, who had been concerned in the said arrests--especially
with the preceding governor [i.e., Vargas] the principal author of
these acts of violence, who, being now a private person, was not on
the same footing as the auditors, who were royal ministers and were
actually governing this commonwealth. There was much to overcome in
this point, in order that the said governor should humble himself;
for he attempted by various means and pretexts to exempt himself from
the jurisdiction of the archbishop--until, finding all paths barred,
he was obliged to subject himself to that prelate's correction, and
to make the necessary declarations in acknowledgement and detestation
of his errors. But at the time of imposing on him public penance he
showed that his repentance was feigned; for he never was willing to
accept that penance, or to submit to the commands of his illustrious
Lordship. On this account he had much to suffer--although the pain
that he had inflicted on the holy archbishop was incomparably greater
than this--seeing how rebellious was his heart, and how little regard
he paid to the censures.
The decision in the archbishop's cause from the courts of Roma and
Madrid could not arrive here as soon as it was desired; for those of
the party opposed to his illustrious Lordship had managed so well
that they seized all the mails in which anything was going that
was favorable to the archbishop, and they only sent to those courts
whatever would contribute to his injury. Accordingly, the good name of
that holy prelate suffered greatly, and he was regarded as restless,
seditious, and disobedient to the royal ministers. But as there was no
allegation made on the side of his illustrious Lordship, and as the
sentence that would be just could not be pronounced without hearing
both sides, the Council were unwilling to settle so important a matter
until all the documents that were in favor of the archbishop should
arrive there. And in view of the allegations made on each side,
although (it is said) the royal Council had uttered the sentence
against his illustrious Lordship, the king our sovereign obliged them
to revoke it, because at Roma the sentence was of contrary tenor, and
his Holiness earnestly charged him to protect the cause of the Church,
and to reflect very carefully on all the events which had occurred
in this case. In consequence of these admonitions from his Holiness,
it is said, our most Catholic king Carlos II summoned the president
of the Council of the Indias, and gave him a severe and sharp rebuke
for having declared sentence against the archbishop--saying, among
other things: "How you have deceived me!" at which the said president
was so grieved that (according to report) he died on the third day
after. Thereupon these matters were again considered in the Council,
with more deliberation; and revoking the previous sentence, declared
that all the irregular measures enacted by this royal Audiencia
were arbitrary and illegal; they also removed from office all the
auditors, for having been concerned in this proceeding [i.e., against
the archbishop]. In the same manner, the supreme pontiff declared
that all those who had taken any part in the arrest and banishment
of his illustrious Lordship, and of the other ecclesiastics were
publicly excommunicated; and he made the archbishop his deputy
judge, in order to absolve them and reconcile them to the Church,
after they should render such satisfaction as, in the judgment of
his illustrious Lordship, was necessary. And to our archbishop he
despatched an apostolic letter, praising his fortitude in defending
the ecclesiastical immunity, exhorting him to continue with the
same courage in any future difficulties that he might encounter;
and to follow his own good example, acting with the same constancy
that he had previously displayed. [Here follows the Latin text of the
brief; before it arrives, Pardo has a fresh opportunity to follow its
injunctions.] Notwithstanding that all the affairs of this commonwealth
were for the time in peace, a new difficulty and occasion arose for the
archbishop to display his constancy in defense of the ecclesiastical
immunity; and, without fearing the threats of a new banishment, he
showed himself steadfast and brave in defending the privileges of
his jurisdiction--so much so, that the royal Audiencia again passed
sentence, of banishment anew, against his illustrious Lordship. They
would have carried this into execution, if it had not been for the
intercession of both cabildos (the ecclesiastical and the secular)
and the holy religious orders who all fell at the governor's feet,
entreating him not to take such a step, which would cause so great
injury to this commonwealth; with this the rigorous intention of his
Lordship was moderated, and this new blow was not inflicted.
Not for this did the valor of his illustrious Lordship grow weak:
rather, in new emergencies (and many of these arose) he bore himself
with invincible courage; nor could his constancy be overcome,
either by regard for meritorious persons, or by dangers, perils, or
threats. For he had a heart and courage of steel (as may be gathered
from his letters written to the governor regarding various affairs)
for defending the rights of the Church--in these letters showing
fortitude like that of a St. Ambrose, of a St. John Chrysostom, and of
other like holy prelates. The holy archbishop was gentle as a lamb;
and all those who knew him affirm that he was merciful and affable;
but in matters touching the honor of God and the immunities and rights
of His Church he was transformed into a spirited lion, nor did he
ever swerve from his course or accept any [personal] advantage. And
it seems that God approved his apostolic zeal and the justness of his
cause, by coming to its defense with the exemplary punishments which
He inflicted on the enemies of the holy archbishop; so that, before
the final settlement of these disputes arrived from Roma and Madrid,
He made evident to the world his innocence, and the injustice of those
who persecuted him--taking just vengeance upon them by their miserable
and violent deaths, and other like calamities. These are not repeated
here, since they are already related at length in the eighteenth [158]
chapter of the preceding book; and God, almost by a miracle, preserved
the life of the holy archbishop so that he might before his death see
his cause concluded in his favor. Thus, if before all the world--or, to
speak more correctly, all hell--had conspired against him, at the last
he was able to see in his own day the union, in his favor and defense,
of the apostolic see on one hand, and the king our sovereign with his
royal Council on the other; and, besides, the Supreme Judge of mortal
men taking just vengeance on his enemies, by which the ministers of
the secular government were warned not to insult again the dignity of
the holy archbishop. And, although various collisions were not lacking,
they did not reach violence and hostilities; for every one feared him,
and regarded him as a holy man whom God assisted and favored.
No other judgment is merited by the exemplary virtues of his
illustrious Lordship; for even those most blind and obstinate in their
prejudices were obliged to confess that the archbishop was a saintly
man--as was said by the auditor who went to arrest him, as has been
previously stated. The holy archbishop was much given to prayer and
meditation, and inclined to silence; he was modest and sedate in
his actions; and he was very watchful in whatever he did that all
should be ordered by the divine law--continually keeping in mind the
account that he must render to God of his ministry, a consideration
which frequently shines out through his letters and other documents
pertaining to the affairs of his high office. And this was the most
potent stimulus which constrained him to act with so much firmness
in the affairs pertaining to his ministry, as is noticeable in the
letters which he wrote thereon to the governor, and are found in
the authentic relation of his acts. In eating he was always very
sparing, not only that he might observe religious abstinence, but
because the delicate condition of his stomach could not endure the
least excess. The holy archbishop lived in extreme poverty, behaving
like the poorest religious in regard to his table, clothing, bed,
and everything else. The province supplied his clothing, of rough,
coarse frieze; and when a garment was torn he himself mended it with
his own hands, as the members of his household have often seen. He
employed the income of his see in doing good to the poor, in aiding
the missions of his diocese, and in the adornment and repair of the
churches. In the university of Santo Thomas he endowed a chair of
canonical law, on account of the need in his church for training in
this knowledge--to the end that the ecclesiastics of this archbishop
might in future be better instructed in a subject so important for
the management of the business in the ecclesiastical court; but this
foundation was not enough to be effective, on account of unexpected
accidents in the country. [159]
At last God chose to reward his labors, and his zeal in defense
of the Church; and thus, the previous storms calmed, God took him,
triumphant over impiety and injustice, from this life to that which
is eternal, with a holy and enviable death. This occurred on the last
day of December in the year 1689, when he was seventy-eight years
of age, most of these employed in the service of God our Lord. [160]
He was given honorable burial at the steps of the clergy-house of our
church of Santo Domingo at Manila: and at his funeral were present
the royal Audiencia and the ecclesiastical and secular cabildos, all
the religious orders, and the rest of this community, all bitterly
sorrowing for the loss of such a pastor and prelate. Although his
government at first ran counter to many who were discontented,
as he seemed to them excessive in his rectitude, yet finally--his
cause justified, and the truth declared by so many tribunals; and
his blameless and holy life being seen [by all]--they hailed him
unanimously as a holy prelate, and an example worthy of imitation. And
even those who formerly regarded his rule as grievous now felt the
lack of such a father, and were grieved that they had not treated him
with more respect, their prejudice not having allowed them to know
his virtue and holiness. The cabildo was left with the government
of the cabildo, and transferred it to the bishop of Troya, Don Fray
Gines Barrientos, a member of our own order--not only to show their
affection for the deceased archbishop, but to make some amends for
the resistance which in past times they had made to his rule, when,
at the time of the banishment and exile of the archbishop, he had
left the bishop with appointment as his governor. Thus the cabildo
made acknowledgment of their past errors, for now were lacking in
their number the two prebends who had been the principal authors of
that resistance, and of all the incivilities shown to his illustrious
Lordship; and these two seditious persons being removed, the rest
professed filial reverence to the mitre and to his episcopal dignity.