THE SECTARIAN MISSIONARY MOVEMENT.
We cannot too strongly emphasize the great interest that the change
of government in the Philippines should have for the English-speaking
Catholic public, seeing that a Catholic population, as large, if not
larger, than the combined Catholic population of England, Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales, is about to be brought under the influence of the
English-speaking world, and in close touch with the Catholic Church in
America, and, perhaps, later on, with ourselves. It is not more than
a year ago that the Philippines were a terra incognita to us all, of
which we knew the name, but hardly more. For the last ten months they
have been brought under our notice almost daily by the newspapers, and
monthly in the pages of the magazines. In the meantime their control
has passed from Spain to America, and a conflict of opinion is going
on in the States as to the desirability or otherwise of undertaking
the responsibility of their future government. Under the old regime,
Church and State were united: a bearable condition when the State
was professedly Catholic, but absolutely unbearable when antagonistic
influences control the Government, hamper the Church in her freedom
of action, and degrade her into servitude while professing to be her
protector. In the new condition of things the Church will be placed
in the same position as it holds in America, free to flourish or
to die, depending entirely on its own resources, and neither helped
nor persecuted by the State. Its ministers, though not enjoying any
special privileges, will be protected in their persons and property
in common with all other citizens. Its religious orders will receive
the same recognition as secular corporations, and their corporate
property will be respected. So far so good; for it was to be feared
that the Spanish Government, who had been deterred only by political
motives from suppressing the Orders, yielding at last to the pressure
of the Freemasons, might have confiscated their property, and either
secularized their members or expelled them from the islands. Still we
cannot close our eyes to the fact that dangers from a different quarter
loom up which it much behooves Catholics to carefully consider. There
is a pressing necessity of being alive to those dangers, if worse
evils than ever are not to befall that large Catholic population of
the Far East.
As might be expected, the Protestant missionary bodies have
inaugurated a movement for sending out missionaries of their own to
the Archipelago. The Rev. John R. Hykes was directed last September
by the American Bible Society to proceed from Shanghai to Manila,
and investigate concerning the Philippines "as a field for Bible
work." He submitted his report in a very short time, having made up
his mind on the religious needs of the people, the scandalous lives
of the Friars, and the superstition of their benighted parishioners
with incredible rapidity. His sensational report duly appeared in the
American papers as the "Startling Revelations made by the Rev. John
R. Hykes." Sure of a sympathetic audience, he laid on the colors
thickly. The report need not occupy much of our attention. Half of
it is made up of ordinary information about the country that any one
could get for himself out of a good encyclopaedia, and the other half
is a rehash and repetition of the charges already dealt with by us
in previous chapters. One statement is, however, worth noticing, as
it clearly indicates the hopelessness of getting fair and unbiassed
treatment from the enemies of the Church. Mr. Hykes states that he was
shocked by the stories of immorality brought against the Friars. And,
to make an impression, he adds that the people who told him the
stories said they were prepared to give names, dates, and places
in confirmation of what they said. Now, as already noted, names,
dates, and places were the very things asked for by the Friars in
the Memorial to the Spanish Government, as far back as last April;
but their enemies, finding those details beyond their power, have
adopted the simpler process of repeating the calumnies to all who,
like Mr. Hykes, give them a ready and sympathetic hearing. Mr. Hykes,
who never went beyond Manila, presumes to judge, in a few days or
weeks, of the spiritual condition of six millions of Christians, and
more than a thousand priests, scattered over the whole Philippine
Archipelago. (See Appendix VI.) We are afraid that too many of the
type of Mr. Hykes will be found among the new missionaries of the
Philippines, coming in crowds, with their wives and children, to
spread, forsooth, the pure light of the Gospel, or rather to engage
in the more congenial task of vilifying the Catholic Church.
In an American Protestant missionary review, there is an article on
the Philippines, by a former agent of the British and Foreign Bible
Society in that country. The article, needless to say, is full of
gross misrepresentations. It puts down the Christian population as
seven million Romanists; the writer denies the ordinary title of
Christian to Catholics. This emissary of the Bible Society writes:
"The question now asked on all sides is--Are the Philippines at
last to be opened to missionary effort? Personally, I feel that
a non-sectarian, but strictly evangelical, mission, aiming at
the Christianization of the whole territory, is what would succeed
best." We may gather from the whole tone of this Protestant missionary
review what a low type of Protestantism it represents, a type largely
made up of self-presumption, ignorance, and fanaticism. Throughout
the paper Catholics are not once designated Christian. It speaks of
the nineteenth century being the first century of Christian missions,
ignoring all the apostolic work of the Catholic Church. It says in
another place that there were no Christian Chinese at the beginning of
this century, ignoring the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who have
known and loved Jesus Christ since the days of St. Francis Xavier,
numbers of whom sealed their faith with their blood. It divides the
population of the country into pagans, Romanists, and Christians--the
latter, of course, being Protestants of one denomination or another. To
such absurd lengths does religious rancor bring it, and all connected
with it. Catholics give the title of Christian to all who are baptized
and profess belief in the Divinity of Jesus Christ. They would not
deny it even to the Rev. Mr. Hykes, bad as he is. But perhaps our
new missionary friends may be similar to those of whom Marshall
speaks in his "Christian Missions," who went out to evangelize the
South Sea Islands, and taught the people that baptism was merely a
ceremony not at all essential to salvation, thus showing their want
of belief in baptismal regeneration. At any rate, it will be news to
the Filipinos to hear for the first time from these enlightened men
that they are not Christians.
That these Bible scatterers can and will do harm there is no
doubt. Already they have flooded Porto Rico with tracts and pamphlets,
crammed with the usual vile charges against the Catholic Church and
her ministers. But it is equally certain that they will never succeed
in making the Philippines a Protestant country. It is a matter of
notoriety that Protestant missions are not overwhelmingly successful
in any part of the world, and that the funds are kept up in most
instances by glowing and rosy-colored, if not altogether accurate,
reports, sent by the missionaries to their supporters at home. The
review which I have just quoted is forced to acknowledge that in
Brazil, after thirty-five years' work, there are only eight thousand
Protestants out of a population of sixteen millions. No less than
eight American Protestant Missionary Societies have been working there
together, well supplied with funds, as is always the case; and yet this
is the result. In fact, eight thousand may not be the result at all,
for the missionaries have, very often, peculiar methods in the science
of statistics. In Mexico, too, they have been at work for many years
unmolested by the authorities, and yet they have but wretched results
to show for themselves at the present day. They make no impression
either on the rich or the very poor; any successes they have being
amongst the impecunious middle classes, the children of whom they
teach gratuitously in their schools, and feed and clothe, and who
carry away with them from these schools, as the principal result of
the religious training they receive, a bitter hatred of the Church in
which they were born. Just as in Mexico, so the Protestant missionaries
are sure to make proselytes among the same classes in the Philippines,
from which classes we know that the promoters of the rebellion have
been mainly recruited; but the better classes and also the poorer,
whatever their shortcomings, have the old Faith and are intensely
devoted to the Catholic Church. These are no more likely than the
people of Mexico and Brazil to be led to accept the mutilated form
of Christianity which will be presented to them by Mr. Hykes and his
friends; unless, indeed, there is such a deplorable dearth of priests
that they will be left without instruction and guidance.
There are grave problems ahead which will tax the wisdom of the
American Congress far more than the military occupation of the
country. John Foreman, who spent some years there, and claims to
be a Catholic, advocates (National Review, September, 1898) the
disendowment of the Church as a necessary financial measure which
would bring a certain amount of relief to the colonial treasury. With
the exception of L3,000 a year paid to the Archbishop of Manila,
and L1,500 to each of the three other bishops, it is difficult to
see how the endowment comes in except as a measure adopted by every
civilized State in dealing with its uncivilized subject races;
and unless the United States is prepared to abandon the role of
civilizer, she will be obliged to keep up the paltry endowment made
in the past by Spain for that purpose. The Church in the Philippines
is, on the whole, self-supporting. She is in the position that the
Church in France, Spain, and Portugal was before the Revolution,
which, when it appeared successively in each country was followed
by a seizure of ecclesiastical property. The salaries paid to the
clergy in those countries are given as a compensation for past
robberies. The writer has been at pains to get at the truth in this
matter and has put himself in communication with a Dominican Friar,
who lived for twenty-seven years in the Philippines, and now holds the
distinguished position of Rector of the Spanish-Dominican College,
in Rome. From him the writer has received the following information
regarding the landed estates of the Friars, and the salaries paid to
them by the Spanish Government. As far as he knows all these estates
were acquired by purchase, and were not given by the Government;
they hold the title-deeds of them in their possession. He is not
prepared to say whether on their first introduction to the country,
three centuries ago, the Government made them grants of land; but we
ourselves may infer from the early history of the Dominicans there,
that whatever they got was from the early Spanish colonists and
the converted natives as free gifts. He adds that in any case the
introduction of agriculture is due to their exertions. The Friars
who ministered to the spiritual wants of the people may be placed
in three categories. There were, first of all, the ordinary parish
priest, who lived among a settled Catholic population. He subsisted
on his benefice, which is not Government property, and was endowed
by no subsidy from the Government. Secondly, there was the missionary
parish priest, who lived in a parish where the majority are Catholics,
but which also contained a proportion of the heathen. He received
some salary from the Government, but much less than that given
to the missionaries pure and simple, who lived in the midst of an
entirely heathen population. These latter, whose business it was
to civilize as well as convert the people to Christianity, and to
teach them agriculture and the mechanical arts, were paid according
as the mission district was large or small. In the large districts
they received L200 annually, and L50 a year was paid to the native
priests who acted as their assistants and curates. In the smaller
districts the sum allowed was L100. The Jesuits, too, on their
return to the Philippines some forty years ago, whence they had been
banished in the middle of the last century, got an annual subsidy as
compensation for the lands they formerly possessed, which had been
confiscated by the Spanish Government of the day. Something also
was given towards the education of young Franciscan missionaries,
and they were allowed their passage out from Spain. The figures we
have quoted are modest enough, seen in the light of modern colonial
salaries and expenditure. A continuance of the very moderate subsidies
allowed to the missionary Friars by the Spanish Government would no
more mean a union between Church and State than did the "contract"
system which was sanctioned by Congress up to 1894, for dealing with
the education of the North American Indians. According to this system,
both Catholic and Protestant missionaries were paid by Government
according to the number of pupils who attended their schools, and
these schools, of course, were taught on strictly denominational
lines. That system had most beneficial results as long as it lasted,
and was acceptable to the Indians. Its abandonment in favor of the
public-school system has resulted in the crying injustice of compelling
Catholic Indian fathers and mothers to send their children to certain
schools to which they have a conscientious objection. [6]
The school question is one of the gravest problems that the American
Government will be called upon to face when her troops have effectively
occupied the Philippines. One of the cries of the rebel leaders is for
the secularization of the schools, and this cry, emanating from infidel
and secret society sources, will assuredly be echoed by the Protestant
ministers. It was these latter who, seeing their ministrations rejected
by the Indians, raised the agitation against the "contract" system.
It is a shame and a wonder to find professed ministers of
religion joining in a cry with the professed destroyers of
religion. Secularization of education is always the first cry among
those who oppose the Catholic religion. According to the showing of
Dr. Parsons, it was attempted and sometimes successfully carried out
in Colombia, Chili, and Ecuador, in which latter country the bishops
were banished because they protested against it. Yet in spite of
the anti-Christian spirit, exhibited in this and in many other ways,
Dr. Parsons makes it clear that the masonic lodges in Peru actually
receive aid out of the funds supplied to Christianize (according to
sectarian ideas) the natives by the Protestant American public.
The notorious ex-Indian commissioner Morgan, now a Baptist prophet,
has already sounded a characteristically aggressive note on this point,
and is conjuring the Government to drive the Catholic religion out
of all the schools in Cuba, a movement already accomplished in the
eastern part of the island. Morgan says: "Here is a field opened for
the missionary spirit, such as the young people of our country have
never yet seen. To carry thither and plant the seeds of civilization,
and to do this in the joyful confidence that all official assistance
is assured to them, will doubtlessly fill with enthusiasm hundreds of
ambitious young teachers." We may wonder what Morgan means by "official
assistance" given for the spreading of Protestantism among a Catholic
people, when, according to theory, the American Constitution does not
support one form of religion over another. But theory is one thing and
practice is another; and though in theory Church and State are entirely
separate, the theory has not, in the past, hindered the United States
from giving substantial assistance to Protestantism. This is how the
case stands for America. Rightly or wrongly she has taken over an
enormous Catholic population in the East. If she is not able to make
any concession on the score of religion, or to stretch a point to meet
the wishes of the people and govern them according to their ideas, then
it is only consonant with reason and justice that her Constitution,
which never contemplated colonial empire, will have to be modified to
meet the exigencies of a situation unimagined by its original founders
and makers. But, in reality, is any modification of the Constitution
necessary in order that religious instruction may take place in the
schools of the Archipelago? In Ireland there is no State Church,
and yet the National School System is so arranged that religious
instruction can be given for half an hour every day of the week. The
system is in theory undenominational, but in practice denominational.
An early solution of the difficulty might be some such procedure as
the following. Let the parish priests be managers of the schools,
and have a voice in the appointment of properly certified masters and
mistresses, and let a fixed time be devoted to religious instruction
every day. If the Protestants succeed in attracting converts, and are
able to gather a sufficient number of children in any place to form
a school, they can receive the same treatment as regards payment and
control of religious instruction. Thus religious dissension would
be reduced to the minimum. Secularization of education would tend
to drive every form of religion out of the people, for Protestantism
could not hope to make headway for a long time in the Philippines; as,
to say the least, it would take some years for the ministers to get a
sufficient knowledge of the various languages in use, and establish
themselves in face of the opposition they are sure to meet with. It
would also put all the Friars in opposition to the Government, while
fair treatment would make them its best friends, and urge them to
keep the people as loyal to the American Constitution as they kept
them to the Spanish Crown for three centuries.
If, then, the Government, after due inquiry, find that the vast
majority of the people do not join in the cry for secularization,
but desire to have the Catholic religion taught in the schools
which their children attend, it would be nothing short of religious
persecution to introduce the public schools system of the States into
the Philippines. It is ever to be borne in mind that the new American
possession in the Far East is one in which the great bulk of the people
are practical Catholics who attend to all their religious duties.
To counteract the baleful influence of the Protestant missionary
and Bible societies, it will be necessary for the Catholic Church in
America to be alive to the new and grave responsibilities thus thrown
upon her by the hand of Providence, and to send out English-speaking
priests at once to the Philippines, to make up for the great dearth of
priests caused by the excesses of the rebels. Before the rebellion they
numbered between one and two thousand, a small number in comparison
with the Catholic population. Fifty have been killed outright;
many others have died of the hardships undergone in captivity; while
several hundreds have left the country, apparently with no intention
of returning. Every year till last year, bands of enthusiastic young
missionaries used to go out from the colleges in Spain to fill up the
gaps in the ranks of the Friars, caused by sickness and death. That
perennial source of life and strength can no longer be relied upon
under the new conditions. The energies of the Spanish Friars will
most likely be expended in Spain itself, where the lack of priests
is still severely felt, and in developing their great and flourishing
missions in China, Japan, Tonquin, and Formosa.
It is a matter of astonishment that the Church in the United
States has up to the present no organization for supplying foreign
mission. Perhaps the struggle to keep abreast in numbers with the
growing Catholic population has absorbed all her energies. But now,
for the first time in her history, she must cast her eyes beyond her
boundaries, and send speedy help to the millions of children who have
been given to her keeping, and whose voice may be heard from across
the wide ocean, calling to her for spiritual help and ministration. Let
her gaze steadily and thoughtfully on the vast harvest of souls given
unto her. She shall reap where others have sown and planted. Let her
gird herself to the work, and go forth and gather with joy the good
wheat that others--the poor Spanish missionaries--have sown in tears
and cultivated through much tribulation.
A fact of interest in connection with the aspect of our subject
under consideration is the challenge sent to Archbishop Ireland
by an American Presbyterian of authority in his sect. He tells the
Archbishop in effect that if the Catholic Church in the United States
will undertake the missionary equipment of the Philippines, his sect
will gladly withdraw from the field, and devote their efforts to Africa
instead. Without attaching any more importance to this declaration
than it deserves, especially as it is founded on the false assumption
that one Gospel is preached by Catholic priests in Washington and
another in Manila, we may, nevertheless, infer from it that these men
believe they would have a much easier task in dealing with the Spanish
missionaries than with Catholic missionaries from the States. Without
saying anything in disparagement of the learning of a body of men
which has produced a Gonzalez, one of the greatest philosophers of
the century, we believe that American priests, being more in touch
with modern times and more open to modern ideas, could give them
valuable lessons in the conflict between the Church and the world, as
it is carried on in our own days. It is not by profound theological
arguments that we can deal with men who can neither understand nor
appreciate them. Priests are wanted for the Philippines who can make
their voices heard beyond its boundaries; who can mould public opinion
by means of the daily Press; who can keep in touch with the politics
and legislation of the United States; and can bring public opinion
there to bear on unjust and unfair treatment, if anything of the kind
is attempted against the Catholics of that unfortunate Archipelago.
POSTSCRIPT.
Since these chapters were prepared for the press there has come
to hand from the ex-missionary, referred to in the previous pages
more than once, additional and valuable information. [7] Though it
embraces various matters, we think it better to give it altogether,
as it possesses a peculiar authority and interest of its own, coming
as it does from a Friar who lived in the Philippines for twenty-seven
years, and who knew the country well in its normal and peaceful state,
long before the Freemasons had wrought havoc in the relations between
the priests and the people.
1. Those who were principally engaged in writing against the Friars
for the past few years, and injuring their prestige at home, were
the civil functionaries and military officers, who for the most
part lived at Manila and knew next to nothing about them and their
doings. These men were biased by anti-religious ideas implanted in them
by an irreligious education. It is easy to estimate the effect of an
enormous correspondence of this kind, leaving Manila every fortnight,
and passing into the hands of politicians in the mother-country,
especially as there was nothing to counteract its influence on the
part of the Friars, who did their work quietly and earnestly, and
had very little correspondence with Spain at all.
2. The parish priests were ex-officio inspectors of the primary
schools, but, having no voice in the appointment of masters and
mistresses, and finding unsuitable persons thrust on them, were forced
in many cases to retire from the schools in disgust, and limit their
connection with them as much as possible.
3. The parish priests were also ex-officio presidents of certain
municipal committees, and were supposed to help in the appointment
of justices of the peace and petty governors, by sending in reports
of the qualifications or otherwise of the nominees. The system worked
well for a long time. But, latterly, owing to the new spirit in Manila,
where the persons in office seemed leagued against the Friars, these
privileged communications invariably leaked out; and if the parish
priest, as in duty bound, laid bare defects and deficiencies the first
to hear of it would be the person of whom they were told. This was
naturally a constant source of irritation and loss of prestige. The
officials seemed to take a delight in lowering the parish priest
in the eyes of the better class of natives. If the parish priest
ventured to advise the governors as to what was best to be done
in the interests of the communes, especially with regard to the
secret societies, the governors would laugh, call him a visionary--an
innocent man. No wonder, then, that the parish priests gradually began
to retire within themselves, and leave growing evils unchecked, when
they saw all their endeavor balked by the powerful opposition of the
civil and military governors. This untoward state of things left the
rebels free to mature and carry out their plans.
4. Here is an instance of how badly this state of things reacted
on the country. The introduction of the new Penal Code was a great
blunder of the Government. It was unnecessary; the natives were all
opposed to it, and the strength and extent of that opposition was
well known to the Friars who lived in the midst of the people. Under
normal conditions they would have advised the repeal of the Code, and
their advice would have been taken. But they were forced to remain
silent while the Government in its folly was putting the obnoxious
Code in force. If they had warned the Government, instead of getting
the respectful hearing to which they were entitled, by their long
experience and their intimate knowledge of the people, they would
simply have been dubbed reactionists.
5. How foolish it was of the Government to alienate the most loyal
Spaniards in the whole Archipelago, the most distinctively Spanish
element,--the Friars. They were almost ultra-loyal, and did their best
to inspire feelings of loyalty in the breasts of the natives. They were
powerful bodies with a strong bond of cohesion, having large interests
in the country. They had glorious traditions to look back upon and
keep them up to the ideal they had formed of their mission martyrs, a
history to remember with pride; and all around them a Christian people,
the fruit of their apostolic toil and that of their predecessors. The
officials, on the other hand, were mere birds of passage, who took no
real interest in the country. It was a case of every one for himself;
every official keeping his eye on Spain with a view to an early
return, while he went through his appointed work. It is remarkable
too that in the Philippines there is no class of old rich Spanish
families such as are to be found in other colonies; the families
are all of yesterday--the riches in the hands of Chinese merchants,
and the foreign trade in the hands of the English and Germans.
6. It used to be said that the Friars wished to have a hand in
everything. The three important departments of justice, finance, and
military affairs were outside their province altogether, and these as
purely secular matters they never touched. The complaint arose from
their being ever ready to preach against sedition and disloyalty,
and to use their moral influence publicly and privately for that
purpose. But the Friars for the sake of the people did take part
in other than purely spiritual concerns, and the activity of mind
it engendered was personally a great help and relief to them. The
general rule is that young priests, coming over for the first time,
suffer a great deal from that ennui to which all classes of Europeans
are subject to in the Archipelago. Gradually the sense of the sublime
duties to which they have vowed themselves, and the example of the
older brethren work a wonderful change in them for the better. They
then begin to throw themselves with ardor into their work, and
identifying themselves with the people among whom their ministrations
lie, take a great interest even in their temporal affairs, and are
glad to help them over their difficulties, especially those arising
between them and the governors. Any friction between the governors
and the Friars has generally arisen from the latter being prompt to
defend the rights of the natives.
7. It is untrue to say that the Friars did not wish to spread the
Spanish language. What they were opposed to was the folly of trying
to teach the Christian doctrine and some other elementary knowledge
in a language not understood by the people. In this matter they gave
their candid opinion to the Government that it was impossible to teach
Spanish in out-of-the-way rural schools. But in towns they taught in
Spanish, and taught the Spanish language and literature. They used
to induce parents to send their children to Manila for the purpose
of learning Spanish.
8. Regarding their opposition to the rebellion from the pulpit,
in private conversation, and by means of the press, they fought the
secret societies, its principal cause, and the propagation of evil
and irreligious literature. They pointed out these evils on several
occasions since 1887 to the governors, and were told in reply that
these societies were of no importance, that they had nothing to do
with the rebellion, and, in fact, that the preparations of the rebels
were of no serious consequence. General Weyler was the only governor
who gave them a hearing. With that solitary exception the official
element remained incredulous. The secret society of the "Katipunan,"
the compact of blood, and the enrolment of levies, were all discovered
by the Prior of Guadalupe, who sent a report of it to General Blanco
three months before the rising took place. Padre Mariane Gol exposed
the intentions of the lodges a long time before Aug. 19, 1898, and
also gave notice of concealed deposits of arms, and a detailed account
of what took place at Manila on the arrival of the Japanese ship Konga.
APPENDIX I.
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF MISSIONS IN CHINA, CONDUCTED BY THE DOMINICAN
FRIARS OF THE PHILIPPINES. [8]
Missionaries supplied by the religions Orders in the Philippines
to the large fields of labor in China and Japan are not confined
to the Dominicans, but as we have not details at hand regarding the
other Orders, we present to our readers part of the work done by the
Dominicans, which will serve as a specimen of the rest.
The Dominicans have charge since 1631 of the Vicariate Apostolic
of Fo-Kien, which at present contains 20,000,000 inhabitants. The
Most Rev. Dr. Salvator Masot, O.P., is the present Vicar-apostolic,
and working under him are eighteen Spanish Dominicans, one native
Dominican, and twelve secular native priests. The vicariate is divided
into twenty-two districts, each under the care of a priest, and the
Christian population numbers 35,000. The districts are subdivided
into what are called Christianities, or places of meeting where
prayer is said, and the Christian doctrine taught. About fifty of
them are provided with an oratory or chapel where Mass is said,
and the sacraments administered; and they have also attached to them
thirty schools for boys and eight for girls. There is also under the
care of the Dominicans a seminary for the education of young native
students who show a vocation for the priesthood.
In 1883 part of the vicariate was cut off and formed into the Vicariate
Apostolic of Amoy, which also was made to embrace the Island of
Formosa. The most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Ibanez is Vicar-apostolic, and
under his direction are working fourteen Spanish Dominicans, one
native Dominican. The vicariate is divided into fourteen districts,
half of which are in Formosa. They have forty chapels or oratories,
twenty schools for boys and girls, and a seminary in the town of
Ta-Kow in Formosa.
A few words about the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic,
who are engaged on the work of the Holy Infancy in both vicariates,
will be interesting. There are fifteen European sisters in all,
besides eight native women. They have five orphanages in which
are housed 200 female orphans abandoned by their unnatural parents
in infancy, and kept by the Sisters till they can marry them into
Christian families. Besides these they have rescued since 1891, 800
others whom they place under the care of Christian nurses, and look
after till they can settle them in life.
The only fact we can give of the Vicariate of Central Tonquin, also
under the care of the Philippine Dominicans, is that in 1890 alone
2,100 natives were converted and baptized.
APPENDIX II.
EXTRACTS RELATING TO THE FRIARS, FROM THE OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF
GENERALS WEYLER AND MORIONES.
GENERAL WEYLER.
"The mission of the Religious Orders is not over, as is pretended by
some who, having fallen foul of them, seek to abolish them altogether,
or at least to restrict and limit their influence. It is this spirit
of jealousy that has dictated many of the so-called reforms, which
we have seen enforced of late years.
"But these people seem to forget that we have established our authority
in Luzon and the Visayas by the exercise of moral influence alone,
backed up by the parish priest, for as none has such intimate and
friendly relations with the people as the priest, so no one knows
better than he what the people think, nor is any one better able
to give them wise advice, to restrain them, and influence them for
good. He alone can make Spaniards of them. By his office and position
he is best fitted to make things easy for our minor officials in
their different charges and districts.
"Remove the control of Religion, and what do you do? You remove the
Spanish element, forgetful of the fact that we have to depend on
a native army whose dialect we do not understand, and who, in turn,
understand not ours; that we have amongst us but a very limited number
of Spanish soldiers--this is really how we are situated. I firmly
believe that the day that witnesses the abolition of the Religious
Orders, or even the serious restriction of their influence, will
also witness the loss of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Even were we to fill
the ranks of the army entirely with Spanish recruits, we should not
improve matters, for then there would be an immense increase to the
expenditure, whereas at present the Orders cost us next to nothing. All
the religious live in common after the manner of a corporation;
so that whatever the priest receives, goes to the support of all,
and to maintain their colleges and seminaries in Spain. Far, then,
from being an inconvenience in the Philippines, religious zeal is our
surest support, and should be by every means promoted and encouraged.
"The natives are naturally simple and credulous, and of little
discernment; and so are prone to superstition and idolatry, and can
be easily imposed upon by any quick-witted impostor who is able to
relate strange and wonderful stories. To prevent them being drawn away,
the light of the true religion is absolutely necessary.
"In Luzon and the Visayas the Government should make religion a
support on which to lean, and should regard the existence of the
Religious Orders as a most effective means of spreading and diffusing
civilization, and of consolidating vast multitudes of men of different
and widely separated races. It is only by gaining the good-will of
these masses we can hope to rule them and draw them to ourselves. In
the establishing of new outposts and ranches, we must count on the
influence of the missionary. It is with this end in view that I have
established certain missions, which will, I hope, in a few years give
the most satisfactory results. I hope that they will be even the
indirect means of increasing the revenues and income of the State,
although the new Christians are to be free of all taxes for the next
ten years. In a word, I know of no better means of civilizing the
natives than the missionary post.
"It is clear that as society progresses in civilization and
enlightenment, the less we are dependent on the influence of the
priest; for as civilization advances organization becomes more
perfect. What I deduce from this is that the reforms necessary in
these islands should be carried out in logical succession, and in
proportion to the state of civilization in each province.
"To aid us in accomplishing this good work, it is necessary that we
should multiply the means for the diffusion of learning, for teaching
the Spanish language, encourage and stimulate labor and industry,
banish as far as possible card-playing and gambling, and extinguish
certain instincts and customs peculiar to half-civilized men.
"These are my aims, and to their realization I have devoted myself
with earnestness, taking for my programme--if I might so express
it--the advancement and strengthening of the civil authority, the
spreading of civilization and learning, so that the country may enjoy
at no distant date the blessings that have come to other countries
through the same means.
"But this, in my opinion, can only be achieved through the Religious
Orders. For let the Government bear in mind that those who deny this
are filibusters, who desire the absolute independence of the country,
and who knew well that their greatest obstacle is to be found in
those holy men who have the charge of souls in the Philippines."
GENERAL MORIONES.
"Though I desire to enforce the laws with strictness, yet I am at the
same time most anxious to safeguard the moral and material interests
of the people over whom I rule. It has ever been my constant study
to maintain on the one hand all the royal prerogatives in their
entire amplitude and vigor; and on the other to make every concession
consistent with these prerogatives, which justice and reason demand,
and thus preserve the close relations which should exist between
the religious and political powers. I regard this relation and
harmony between these two powers as the very foundation of social
order--in this country particularly, where religion and patriotism
are interwoven in all its past history, and pre-existing institutions,
and where they must bring about its future peace and prosperity.
"My efforts in this direction have, I rejoice to say, been greatly
strengthened by the loyal and unconditional assistance given to my
authority by all the Religious Orders of the country. These bodies,
to the glory of Spain be it recorded, are composed of excellent
and truly devoted men; men who without one hope of earthly reward,
without a hope of ever again treading their native land, sacrifice
with generous enthusiasm their lives, social surroundings, personal
friendships, nay, even, in some places, their daily bread, to spread
the light of the Gospel, and promote the interests of Spain.
"They spend themselves in their efforts to instil the love of faith
and fatherland into the simple minds of the innocent inhabitants of
these distant lands, and thus lay the best and surest foundations of
a true civilization.
"Aided in this manner it has been comparatively easy for me to effect
many of the necessary reforms in different parts of this Province;
to establish useful institutions, and to aid the Supreme Government
by founding many benevolent societies, such as the Monte de Pieta
and the Savings Bank, which I hope will put an end to the extortions
of greedy speculators. Many villages have submitted to us in the
provinces of North Luzon without our having had to employ force to
any extent worth speaking of. This happy result has been brought about
almost entirely by the good offices of the Religious Orders,--I mean
by their preaching, their advice, the holy example of their lives,
their tact, self-denial, and sacrifices.
"They are men who deserve our highest esteem, and our lasting
gratitude."...
APPENDIX III.
THE WORK OF FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA.
A writer in the San Francisco Monitor has made a very intelligible and
instructive abstract of an article recently written by Rev. Reuben
Parsons, D.D., on "Freemasonry in Latin America." This is a subject
upon which there is much popular misapprehension, and Dr. Parsons
throws a strong light upon it. His language is, all in all, moderate;
and his tone, temperate. He makes no vicious attack upon the Order,
and all his assertions are substantiated by quotations from Masonic
organs or unprejudiced sources. He exposes the systematic attacks
which the lodges have made upon religion; the persecutions to which
they have subjected not only the bishops but the laity; the war they
have waged against religious education. And he proves all his charges
from the mouths of the Masons themselves.
Freemasonry in the United States and Freemasonry in Catholic countries
are two distinct institutions. Freemasonry among us is a benevolent
society with a creed and a ritual. It does not exhibit any symptoms
of bigotry. But in France, Spain, and Italy a main purpose seems
to be opposition to the Church. In France the Masonic clique which
runs the government has kept the Church in bondage; in Italy Masonry
was most active in the movement which overthrew the temporal power
of the Pope. In Latin America, as Dr. Parsons shows, it has started
revolutions, assassinated the leaders of the people, exiled the clergy,
and persecuted the Church. Fortunately, however, its domination has
been short-lived in most of the South American republics, owing to
the universal disgust which its violent measures excited. Brazil
was the scene of the most important fight that Freemasonry waged
against the Church in South America. For many years the society
had been establishing itself in that country, but it was only
during the reign of Don Pedro II. (1831-1889) that an open rupture
occurred. There were two Grand Lodges in Brazil--one monarchial and
the other revolutionary. In 1872 the president of the former had
some measures passed in Parliament which were highly pleasing to
his followers. A banquet was tendered to him, and a feature of the
affair was an address by a priest. The priest was suspended by his
bishop, and, at once, the Masons were on the warpath. Both lodges sank
their differences, and united in their opposition to what they were
pleased to call an infringement of their liberty. Their first act of
defiance was the announcement of a Mass to be celebrated for one of
their brethren who had died in rebellion against the Church. Next day
they turned their attention to the provinces and attempted to have a
Mass of thanksgiving celebrated in commemoration of the foundation
of the lodge at Olinda. The bishop immediately warned his priests
against this defiance of spiritual authority. The Masons retorted
by charging that some priests were members of that sect, and that
the parish confraternities were honeycombed with masonry. It was
found that some of the confraternities attached to the churches were
controlled by the Masons. The bishop forbade the infected societies
to hold services in their chapels. Those thus censured, disregarded
the prohibition, and even went so far in their defiance as to appear
in church in full regalia. When holy communion was refused them "in
their Masonic capacity," they boldly took possession of the keys of
the tabernacle. The priests were thus forced to go to the president
of the local Masonic confraternity whenever they were called upon
to administer the holy viaticum to the dying, and ask from him the
necessary keys.
Of course such a condition could not long continue. The Masons appealed
to the minister of ecclesiastical affairs, who was himself in high
standing in the Order. He decided that the bishops should withdraw
their interdict against the confraternities. Just at this time, the
bishop of Olinda received a papal brief approving of his action. The
brief was published by the prelate, who was thereupon arrested and
charged with the terrible crime of promulgating an ecclesiastical
mandate without permission of the Emperor. In every country where
the Church is free, the ecclesiastical authorities enjoy the right
of ruling and directing their flock in spiritual matters. It would
seem, according to the Masonic idea and the weak-minded Don Pedro,
that the bishop should not take any action without consulting the
temporal rulers.
The intrepid prelate was sentenced to four years in the
penitentiary. When his case was disposed of, the bishop of Para was
arrested and received the same sentence, besides being subjected to
insults worse than the penitentiary could offer. One of the condemned
confraternities celebrated its feast in 1877 with a grand procession,
the most prominent feature of which was a series of indecent
pictures. The bishop of the diocese where the outrage occurred felt
it his duty to speak out against the sacrilegious act. He prohibited
the shameless society from using its chapel, but after two years of
legal proceedings the case was decided against him. On the night of the
decision, the Masons celebrated their victory by hooting the prelate
and illuminating their headquarters. These excesses disgusted the
Catholics of Brazil, and popular indignation forced the Masons to be
more prudent and to confine themselves to secret intrigues. As outlined
in the address of their Grand Master, their policy should be to obtain
control of the schools, to introduce a bill which would make marriage
merely a civil contract, and to secularize the cemeteries. In 1880,
however, the sect met with reverses, and the new government was not
under Masonic influences. Many of the deluded members abjured their
errors, and the Church in Brazil has enjoyed comparative freedom
since that time.
Freemasonry makes loud boasts of enlightenment and independence,
but it hounded to death the most enlightened and liberty-loving
patriot that South America has ever produced--Simon Bolivar, the
Liberator. He studied law in Madrid, and on his return home joined
the patriots who revolted against Spain. He freed Venezuela from
Spanish rule, and was elected first President of the Republic of
Colombia. But while he was fighting for the freedom of Peru, the
Masonic clique was plotting against religious freedom in Colombia. In
1821 the Colombian Congress, which was controlled by the Masons,
passed many laws directed against the Church. The Catholic religion
was disestablished, right of censorship over books was vested in the
Government alone, the right of nominating bishops, which had been
exercised by the defunct Spanish power, was claimed, and a new plan
of studies was imposed on the ecclesiastical seminaries. Some of these
regulations may appear innocent, but the way in which they were carried
out evidenced the animus of their authors. The first books passed and
approved for publication by the government censor were the works of
Voltaire and other French atheists, and many immoral pamphlets. One
of the text-books prescribed for the universities was an atheistic
work by the English materialist Bentham. When an eminent professor
protested against this, he was thrown into prison. Such violation
of religious liberty could not occur in the United States. And yet
these enlightened and tolerant Masons inflicted them on a Catholic
nation. Other outrages on liberty followed. Crime stalked abroad
in the new republic; unoffending citizens were cast into prison or
beheaded on the trumped-up charge of treason. The people soon tired
of the new tyranny and clamored for Bolivar to return and liberate
them once again.
Bolivar returned and restored order and peace to the distracted
country. He was hated by the lodges, and his death was decreed. On
Sept. 25, 1828, a band of assassins entered his house, but fortunately
Bolivar escaped by a secret passage. That the crime had been plotted by
the Masons is evident from the decree which the President issued soon
afterwards: "Considering that secret societies have the planning of
political revolutions for their principal object, and that their
baneful character is sufficiently manifested by the mystery with
which they surround themselves, I order the suppression of all
such societies, and the closing of their lodges." He re-established
religious education in the schools and universities, believing that
nothing but religion could counteract the disorders and crimes which
disgraced his beloved country. His enemies triumphed at the elections
of 1830, and Bolivar decided to resign office. His final address to
Congress is memorable. "And now," he wrote, "let my last official act
be to recommend Congress to protect continually our holy religion, the
fruitful source of the blessing of Heaven; and to entreat Congress to
restore its sacred and unprescriptible rights to public instruction,
which has been made a cancer for Colombia. Fellow-citizens, I must
say, with the blush of shame on my brow, that while we have won
our independence, it has been won at the expense of every other
blessing. For twenty years I have served you as soldier and as
magistrate. During that long period we have freed our country,
procured liberty for three republics, repressed many civil wars,
and four times I have resigned to the people the supreme power which
they confided to me. To-day I fear that I may be an obstacle to your
happiness, and therefore I resign for the last time the magistracy
with which you have honored me. The most unworthy suspicions have been
expressed in my regard, and I have been unable to defend myself. A
crown has been offered to me frequently by men who are now ambitious
of supreme power, but I always refused that crown with the indignation
of a sincere republican."
The republic which he established was dismembered; his dearest friend
was assassinated, and his own picture was burned in effigy. He was
besought to return and once more guide the destinies of the country,
but he replied: "I cannot assume an authority with which another is
invested." He died in his forty-eighth year, of a broken heart. Such
was the treatment which the Washington of South America received
from Freemasons.
Contrasting the lives of two presidents of Ecuador--Moreno, the
martyr, and Alfaro--in a previous article, we touched on the crimes
of Freemasonry in that country. After the assassination of Moreno,
the lodges decided not to inaugurate a very radical policy. They
were afraid of a popular outburst. But in 1877 a drunken soldier,
named Vintimilla, was proclaimed dictator, and then the cloven hoof
appeared. The usual decree for the secularization of education was
promulgated and the Catholic bishops protested. The bishops were
banished for their action, and the Archbishop of Quito, Monsignor
Chica, died under very suspicious circumstances. A post-mortem
examination revealed twelve grains of strychnine in his stomach,
but his poisoners were never brought to justice. This was followed
by a decree ordering all the pastors to celebrate requiem masses
for the souls "of all the martyrs of holy Liberalism who had fallen
since March, 1869." That was the date of an insurrection against
the saintly Moreno. The priests refused to celebrate Mass for these
revolutionists, and the people sided with them. The drunken dictator
was defeated. Soon afterwards he was driven from office and Ecuador
was comparatively peaceful until Alfaro, a cruel and ignorant soldier,
seized the Government. His term has been marked by the murder and
exile of priests and bishops.
In Chili, the most Catholic of all South American countries, English
and German Masons made many futile attempts to secularize all the
institutions, and to degrade marriage into a merely civil contract. The
Monde Maconnique published the programme which had been prepared by
the "Grand Lodge of Chili"; and another organ of the lodges informs us
that "in Chili it is really the English and German lodges that do the
work." It is gratifying to learn that all their plots came to naught,
and that Chili remains a Catholic and contented country.
In Peru the lodges are supported in a manner from the "missionary
funds," which Protestants of this country contribute for the spread
of the Gospel among these "benighted Papists." The preachers who
are sent out to Catholic countries are too often ignorant bigots. A
common mode of procedure on their part is to attack and calumniate
Catholics, and they are ready to join with Masonry, or any other
anti-Catholic society, in their fight against the Church. So far,
however, they have failed to stir up an anti-Catholic movement in Peru.
Little need be added about Mexico, where the people are, for the
most part, devoutly Catholic, while the politicians are Masonic. As a
consequence the Church has been despoiled of her property and visited
with persecution. The trouble with the people of these countries is
that they allow themselves to be ruled by politicians. The same may
be said of the United States, with a difference, however: there,
politicians are allowed to misappropriate funds and to plunder
tax-payers; in Mexico and South America the Catholics, somehow or
other, permit themselves to be persecuted by the Masonic politicians.
APPENDIX IV.
INTERVIEW WITH AUGUSTINIAN FRIARS.
(From the Catholic Standard and Times, Philadelphia, Penn.)
Ten Spanish priests, driven from the mission of the Philippines by
the insurrectionary movement, arrived in San Francisco on the 5th
of January by the Pacific Mail steamer Doric. They only remained
a few days in California, as their destination was New Granada, to
which they sailed the following week. A call on them while stopping
at the Occidental Hotel obtained much interesting information
about the disposition of the natives towards the clergy in the
Philippine group. All ten had been employed as parish priests in
country districts, where the population is almost wholly of native
stock, without the admixture of Chinese blood which is prevalent
in Manila. Two came from Luzon, where the Tagals are predominant;
two more from Zebu, and six from Panay. In these last islands the
population is of the Visaya race. Familiarity with the native language
is required from every missionary before he is sent out of the seminary
in Manila after his arrival in the Archipelago.
During their passage the exiled priests, by direction of their
superiors, all wore the ordinary secular dress, and looked like a
delegation of intelligent business men from some country district
in the United States. In manner they were courteous and very
intelligent; but they were somewhat shy of talking much in a strange
land. After some time this shyness wore off, and cordial relations
were established between the exiles and your correspondent. None of
the former spoke English, though the president, Father Diaz, read
it readily, and translated offhand articles in the San Francisco
papers to his brethren. They were not familiar with the system of
interviewing as practised in California, and asked that any questions
to which their answers were desired should be put to them in Spanish
and in writing. Later they conversed freely on subjects connected
with their missions, though they declined to express themselves on
political questions. They evidently regarded Aguinaldo as not a very
remarkable personage, and the calmness with which they spoke of their
own experiences was very remarkable.
The statement that the Friars possessed large estates in the country
was declared by them to be a pure lie. The individual members possess
nothing, and the only property held by the Orders is attached to
hospitals or colleges. The missionaries are all Europeans, though
there are many natives among the secular clergy. The Augustinians,
Franciscans, Dominicans, and Capuchins have the right of presentation
to certain parishes which were founded among the barbarous natives in
older times. Each Order has a seminary in Europe specially devoted
to training such of its members as have suitable vocations for the
Philippine mission. After completing their studies, and receiving
holy orders, the young priests are sent to the seminaries in the
Philippines to perfect themselves in the native languages, and get
familiar with the habits of the country. There are three principal
languages spoken in the group,--Tagal, Visaya, and Pampanginano. No
priest is sent on mission work until he is thoroughly acquainted
with whichever of these he is destined to use in his ministry. These
Philippine languages have, it must be remembered, books and literature,
and are not mere dialects suitable to all. In answer to a question
whether as missionaries they could accumulate private funds, Father
Alvarez emphatically said no. "We are Friars and have taken a solemn
vow of poverty," he stated, "and it a simple falsehood to assert, as
some have done, that any Philippine Friar possesses a rood of land or
a peso that he can call his own, except temporarily and by permission
of his superiors." A couple of other questions brought out a clearly
worded account of the relations of the Friars in the Philippines to
Church and State. Some of the facts will be new to American readers.
The Catholic Church in the Archipelago is organized on the same
basis as in other parts of the world, but the number of clergy is
much less in proportion to the population than in any other Catholic
country. There is one archbishop and four bishops for a population
of over seven millions. The dioceses are divided into parishes, as
in Spain or America, and the priests of each parish are subject to
the bishop's authority in the same manner. The only peculiarity, in
a church point, is that more than three-quarters of the parishes are
served by members of the different Religious Orders--Augustinians,
Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits. Each Order has the right of
presenting the names of suitable priests for the districts in its
charge to the bishop, who appoints them, if satisfactory to his own
judgment, after which the Augustinian or Franciscan occupies the
ordinary position of a parish priest--subject, however, to removal by
his own superior. In practice this is rare, and the relations between
the bishops and the Orders have been uniformly satisfactory.
The whole number of Augustinians in the islands in 1896 was three
hundred and twenty-seven, and the Catholic population which this number
supplied was two millions three hundred thousand, or about one priest
to every seven thousand Catholics. It certainly is not a great number,
and does not justify the common ideas of hordes of idle Friars. In
districts of over ten thousand two or more Friars are stationed, but
the great majority have only one, with a native assistant priest or
deacon in some cases. The church property is simply the church and
priest's house, with a garden attached. The revenue is an allowance
from the government, which varies from five hundred to eight hundred
silver dollars a year, or somewhat less than ten cents a head for the
population at large. That the three hundred Friars can lead idle lives
is hardly compatible with the number of baptisms and marriages recorded
within a year. There were a hundred and fifteen thousand baptisms,
sixteen thousand marriages, and fifty-one thousand interments as the
work of 1896 for the three hundred Friars.
Of the condition of the people in the islands Father Alvarez thought
it compared fairly well with the rural population of his native Spain
or other European countries. The bulk of the natives own and cultivate
their own lands. There are schools for boys and girls in every parish,
and the great majority can read and write. Of the religious spirit of
the country people and their respect for the missionaries he spoke
very favorably. The movement which drove them out was political,
not religious. Father Alvarez attributed the chief share in it to the
mestizos of Chinese and Philippine origin, who form the greater part
of the population of Manila and the larger towns. Like the Tagals
and the Visayas, these mestizos are Christians, but they possess the
fondness for secret societies of their Chinese fathers. A certain
number of the younger natives who have engaged in office seeking or
business joined in the movement, to which the bulk of the country
population is wholly indifferent.
The occupation of Cavite by Dewey and the destruction of the Spanish
fleet was followed by the withdrawal of the Spanish soldiers from
the remoter islands, where they had been almost the only police
force. Popular disturbances followed in many places, and Aguinaldo
at Cavite, through the mestizo agents, quickly put himself in touch
with the local agitators. The latter had no definite purpose except
to secure personal advancement in the change of government, and when
Aguinaldo declared Spaniards the enemies of the Philippines, attacks
were made on the isolated Spanish priests. Several were imprisoned,
some were released by their parishioners, and others remained in the
hands of the new insurgent soldiery. The heads of the Order directed
a temporary retirement, and most of the priests did so, but returned
again after some time. With the progress of Aguinaldo's party more
violent measures were adopted towards the Spanish priests. The jails
were opened and criminals had free scope through the islands. In many
places liquor was freely distributed by the leaders of the insurgents,
and massacres and robberies were committed with impunity. In Illocos,
in Luzon, the bishop and all the students of the seminary and all the
Spanish priests were arrested and treated with savage brutality. More
than fifty priests were murdered in different places, and over four
hundred thrown into prison and subjected to all the brutalities that
the fierce Malay spirit could suggest. The heads of the Orders in
Manila finally gave the word, and the missionaries who were able to
escape made their way to the different places which were protected by
Spanish garrisons, or to Manila itself. In Manila, after its capture,
it was impossible for the Orders to maintain long the number of
fugitive priests thus driven from their homes. Their funds are limited,
and, on consultation with the generals in Rome, it was decided to find
employment for the exiles in other lands as far as possible. In South
America such employment has been offered to a number of Augustinians.
APPENDIX V.
LETTER FROM A FRIAR IN THE POWER OF THE REBELS TO ANOTHER FRIAR,
OF THE SAME ORDER, RESIDING IN MANILA.
Dear and Reverend Father,--
The wife of the master of N. has come to visit us in your name,
and to offer us money. God will reward your good works and your
kindness to us. We are not accepting the help you offer us because
we have no need of it for the present. Just now we can say we are
rich in comparison with what we were some time ago. For the last
two months we have not been treated with that ferocity which was
displayed against us previously by the rebel chief holding the rank
of Lieut.-Colonel, and the guard in whose custody we were placed:
He treated us in the beginning with extreme rigor, due to his satanic
hatred against religion, and his insatiable greed. He ordered us to be
scourged on four occasions, took all our money, and, finally all we
possessed. He took our clothes, hats, and shoes, and left us nothing
but miserable rags for clothing. But the charity of the people, in
spite of the guards, who had the most severe orders to prevent them,
supplied us with all we had need of.
The hatred that the rebel chief has shown towards us has passed all
limits. He made us suffer for a long time most terrible humiliations
and vexations. He and his soldiers injured us in various ways and
tortured us. The attitude of the rebel chief clearly showed us that
he was a furious agent of the Freemasons. By his orders the father
Vicar of N. was tied to a tree and fiercely beaten. In addition to
this bad treatment, we were sent every day on the public roads and
forced to work till night-time. We just got what repose was strictly
necessary, and at noon a small repast--all that under a fierce sun. I
was exempted from the work on account of my sickness, and yet I had
a desire to share in the labors and sufferings of my brethren.
The people compassionated us and relieved us as much as
possible. They brought us tea, coffee, cigars, etc., and all that
without the knowledge of the guards, from fear of the rebel chief,
who threatened terrible punishment to all who would dare to give aid
to the prisoners. The people of N., as soon as they learnt that I was
a prisoner, began to come to see me, in spite of the long distance
that separated them from me, and brought me clothes and money with
which I was able to provide for my necessities for the time being.
When the rebel chief bearing the title of Lieut.-Colonel heard this
news he got into a great rage, threatened my parishioners that he
would have them arrested and brought before a judge. In consequence of
this they were obliged to fly, but still before their departure they
found means of giving me a little more help. The rebel chief does
not reside near us, but comes from time to time, causing terror to
everybody. Happily, his visits are rarer now, and, thanks to God, we
enjoy a certain tranquillity. It is said that he has been reprimanded
for the bad treatment he has inflicted on us. Who knows?
However that may be, he comes but rarely, and leaves us in
peace. Taking advantage of this, an inhabitant of the locality in
which we are has obtained from a chief of a higher grade a remission
of the hard labor.
We know from a good source that all communication with the imprisoned
Friars has been forbidden under the most severe penalties. The faithful
are permitted neither to salute us nor to visit us. On Sundays we ask
permission to go to Mass, and when that is granted us we have to go
escorted by bayonets, and are not permitted to say Mass ourselves.
The Governor of the locality is polite enough with us, but does
not obtain any favor for us. Fathers N. and N. have written several
times to him, begging him to get our position bettered as far as he
is able. A great number of rebel chiefs have come to see us, and all
seem possessed by a satanic hatred for us, and instead of pitying us
rejoice to see us in a state of misery.
They boast of having taken part in the massacres of the insurrection,
and say to us: "Fathers So-and-So have escaped us, but if we catch
them we will make them pay for their conduct. It has been decreed
to exterminate you all; however, we will allow you to live." The
insurgents demand freedom of worship, of teaching, of association,
civil marriage, etc. These theories are proclaimed in public, and
civil marriages have already taken place. They are celebrated in
presence of the Mayor, according to the new decree, and the fee is
five francs. The Blessed Virgin, who delivered us from death, will
deliver us also from this perilous situation, and by that will put
a seal on the favors she has already bestowed on us.
Kindest remembrances to all the brethren.
APPENDIX VI.
THE REV. W. HYKES ON BURIAL FEES AND THE PACO CEMETERY OUTSIDE MANILA.
The following is a sample of the Rev. Mr. Hyke's report:--
"The burial fees demanded by the priests during an epidemic of
smallpox were something enormous. As many were unable to pay,
the dead were lying in the churches and in private houses in such
numbers as to become a serious menace to the public health. The
thing was so scandalous that the Governor-General interfered,
and issued orders for all the corpses to be buried at once. The
priests disregarded it and telegraphed to the Government at Madrid,
who reversed the order.
"I heard such a revolting story about the Paco Cemetery (Paco
is a suburb of Manila) that I decided to visit the place and
ascertain the facts for myself. In the centre of a plot of ground,
containing about two acres, is a mortuary chapel. Around this in
concentric circles, and with a space of about twenty feet between,
are three or four walls. These walls are from five to seven feet
wide, about ten feet high, and contain three tiers of vaults, one
above the other, and of sufficient size to admit a coffin. The
Filipino in charge told me that there were 1,278 vaults for
adults and 504 for children. The fees are collected five-yearly
in advance, and are $33 for an adult and $16 for a child. I said
to the attendant: 'Suppose that at the end of any period of five
years the friends of the deceased are unable to pay, what do you
do?' 'We remove the coffin, take out the remains and throw them on
the bone-pile.' 'Will you show me the bone-pile?' 'Certainly.' He
conducted me to the rear of the cemetery, up a flight of stone
steps to the top of the wall. The receptacle for the bones was
a space between two parallel walls, about thirty feet long by
four wide by eight deep, and it was nearly full. Near by were
two metallic coffins which had evidently just been opened, and
on top of the bone-pile were two complete skeletons. A dog was
munching the bones. You can imagine how such a system would work
with an ignorant, superstitious people like the natives. All of
the vaults except three were occupied. The fees amount to more
than $50,000 every five years. The fees of a church near to the
hotel at which I was stopping amounted to $100,000 per annum.
"It is not surprising that the great religious corporations are
enormously wealthy, and that they have a power consonant with
that wealth. I was shocked at the stories I was told by men,
whose word I could not doubt, of the flagrant immorality of the
Spanish Friars. The men who gave me these statements said they
were prepared to give names, dates, and places."
We sent a cutting containing this part of the report to the
ex-Philippine missionary, residing at present in Rome, to whom we
have already referred.
To these lying statements the missionary gives an unqualified
contradiction. He himself was a parish priest during the cholera of
1882-83, when 20,000 people died in six months. In his own parish
alone 1,829 died and were buried, and yet he did not get a penny for
burial fees. He adds that the other parish priests acted like himself.
The revolting description of the treatment of the dead in the Paco
cemetery is a foolish fabric, built on the simple fact that bodies
are removed from certain niches, after five years, to make room for
others. Mr. Hykes indirectly imputes the extortion of enormous burial
fees in this cemetery to the clergy. Whether the fees are enormous or
not, they do not go to the Church; for the missionary Father reveals
the fact wilfully kept back by Mr. Hykes--that the cemetery belongs to
the Manila municipality, which gets all the fees. This cemetery story,
told with such apparent honest indignation, is alone sufficient to
discredit all Mr. Hyke's report, and is a proof that he knows how to
color and misrepresent facts to suit his purpose.
In conclusion, we are anxious to know if Mr. Hykes examined the
spiritual condition of the Protestants in the Philippines. "To
our shame be it said," observed a British officer, in 1859,
"there is no Protestant place of worship on the island; and even
the burial-ground is in an unseemly position and condition, and,
I believe, unconsecrated." [9]
NOTES
[1] "The Wanderings of a Globe-Trotter in the Far East." By the
Hon. Lewis Wingfield. 1889.
[2] See interview with General Merritt, published in the New York
Herald, Oct. 4, 1898.
[3] In the Administration, of Madrid, one of the leading reviews
in Spain.
[4] One may hardly be surprised that men who have been robbed of their
all--reputation, home, and field of work--are apt to be plain-spoken
and severe when commenting upon those who have upset their lives,
and destroyed the sacred interests of the religion to which they
had devoted themselves unreservedly. Friends, on the other hand,
of the persons who have been the instruments of such ruin, are sure
to uphold the destroyers as heroes, great of character and great of
deed. Hence we need not be surprised at such different estimates of
Aguinaldo as those referred to in a sketch of him published in the
American Review of Reviews for February, 1899.
"Friends and enemies agree that he is intelligent, ambitious,
far-sighted, brave, self-controlled, honest, moral, vindictive, and at
times cruel. He possesses the quality which friends call wisdom, and
enemies call craft. According to those who like him he is courteous,
polished, thoughtful, and dignified; according to those who dislike
him he is insincere, pretentious, vain, and arrogant. Both admit him
to be genial, generous, self-sacrificing, popular, and capable in the
administration of affairs. If the opinion of his foes be accepted he
is one of the greatest Malays on the page of history. If the opinion
of his friends be taken as the criterion he is one of the great men
of history, irrespective of race."
[5] "Rhodesia and its Government," by H. C. Thomson. "Malaboch; or
Notes from my Diary on the Boer Campaign of 1894 against the Chief
Malaboch," by the Rev. Colin Rae.
[6] A recent report in the daily papers (April, 1899), that one or
another of the most civilized Indian tribes, of which remnants remain,
is determined upon emigration from the United States to Mexico,
because of the fairer treatment they have reason to look for there,
will certainly not surprise those who are familiar with the broken
promises and rescinded obligations that have marked the Government's
dealing with the Red man and his Catholic educators and missioners.
[7] It is with real satisfaction that, at the last moment, we
find ourselves permitted to mention the name of this venerable and
experienced man--the Very Rev. Padre Gallego, O.P., Convento della
SS. Trinita, Rome; and we can but express the regret that the worth
of this noble disciple of Christ is not known of in the outside world
as it is among his confreres; then, indeed, his word would have the
authority it deserves among all who love religion, and struggle for
the uplifting of humanity.
[8] From the Analecta Ordinis Praedicatorum.
[9] "Hongkong to Manila," by H. T. Ellis, R.N.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Friars in the Philippines, by Ambrose Coleman