The Friars in the Philippines Part 5

"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 inst.i.tutions, 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 a.s.sistance 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 inst.i.tutions, 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 grat.i.tude."...

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 a.s.sertions 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 inst.i.tutions. 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, a.s.sa.s.sinated 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 pa.s.sed 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 Ma.s.s 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 Ma.s.s 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 viatic.u.m 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, pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sa.s.sins entered his house, but fortunately Bolivar escaped by a secret pa.s.sage. 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 princ.i.p.al 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 a.s.sa.s.sinated, 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 a.s.sume 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 a.s.sa.s.sination 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 circ.u.mstances. 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 ma.s.ses 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 Ma.s.s 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 inst.i.tutions, 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 pa.s.sage 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 princ.i.p.al 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 acc.u.mulate 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 a.s.sert, 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 a.s.sistant 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 ma.s.sacres 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. G.o.d 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 pa.s.sed 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 att.i.tude 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 compa.s.sionated 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 t.i.tle 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 G.o.d, 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 Ma.s.s, and when that is granted us we have to go escorted by bayonets, and are not permitted to say Ma.s.s 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.