Manila, August first, one thousand six hundred and twenty-two.20
Regulations concerning the visits of religious
The King. Inasmuch as I have considered it advisable to order to be given, and gave, one of my decrees of the following tenor:
“The King. Inasmuch as there have been many differences in regard to the manner in which the religious of the mendicant orders who have missions of Indians in their charge in Nueva España, are to be visited by their prelates, and whether it is advisable that they possess missions; and inasmuch as various decrees have been despatched, some of which have been carried out, but others, because of finding some trouble in the execution, have not been observed; and desiring to end those quarrels and establish the form most advisable for the service of God and for mine: I ordered that, the papers that treat of that matter having been collected, what had been done in that matter be examined in an assembly of ministers and other experienced and educated persons. The assembly having conferred on the matter, and advised me of their opinion, I have considered it best to determine and order, as I do by this present, that, for the present, and until I order otherwise, the said missions remain to, and be continued by, the religious as hitherto; and there shall under no consideration be any innovation in that matter; and the assignment and removal of the religious who are curas, whenever it may be necessary, shall be made by my viceroy of those provinces, in my name, the latter observing in those appointments and promotions the form, together with the conditions and circumstances, with which it is done in the kingdoms of Pirú; and it is my will that the religious be not admitted to the exercise or to the service of the said missions, or that they receive the emoluments of them in any other manner. I also order that the archbishop of those provinces may visit the said religious in what refers to the ministry of curas and to nothing else—inspecting the churches, the sacraments, the chrism, the confraternities, their alms, and everything pertaining to the mere administration of the holy sacraments and the said ministry of curas. He shall go to make the visit in his own person, or shall assign or send for this duty such persons as he shall choose and find satisfactory, to those districts where he cannot go in person, or where there is no occasion for his aid. He shall employ correction and punishment whenever necessary, strictly within the limits and exercise of curas as above stated, and nothing further. In respect to personal transgressions in the morals and lives of such religious curas, the latter shall not remain subject to the said archbishops and bishops, so that these may punish them through the visits, even though under pretext that they are curas; but, on having notice of such matters, they shall, without writing or drawing up processes, secretly advise their regular superiors of such persons, so that the latter may correct the wrong. In case that the latter should not do this, then the former might make use of the authority given them by the holy council of Trent, in the manner and in the cases when they can and ought to act in regard to religious who are not curas. In this instance I order that they have recourse to the said my viceroy, who shall appoint them and who can remove them, to represent to him the causes, so that it may be done as has been and is done in Pirú. And inasmuch as the said religious, in regard to the jurisdiction, are not endeavoring to acquire any right for the perpetuity of the said missions; and since by the aforesaid the ordinary jurisdiction is not annulled in cases that conform to law and to the holy council of Trent: it pertains to the superiors to try the causes of the religious. That must and shall be understood, without any prejudice to the ordinary jurisdiction and the right of my patronage. I order all the above to be thus observed and executed inviolably by my viceroy, archbishop, bishops of Nueva España and all other persons whom its fulfilment concerns, notwithstanding any other orders whatever that may exist to the contrary. Such I revoke and declare null and void. Given in Madrid, June twenty-two, one thousand six hundred and twenty-four.
And in behalf of the archbishop of the metropolitan church of the city of Manila in the Philipinas Islands, I have been requested to be pleased to declare whether the decree of November fourteen of the former year six hundred and three is to be observed in those islands, in regard to the manner in which the said religious missionaries are to be visited; or whether the visit is to be exercised with the limitation and in the form contained in the new decree which was given to Nueva España. The matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it fitting to give the present. By it I order that everything contained in the decree herein inserted be observed and obeyed by my governor, archbishop, and bishops of those islands, and by all other persons whom it concerns, exactly as is contained in it, for such is my will. Given in Madrid, August fourteen, one thousand six hundred and twenty-four.21
Conflict Between Civil and Religious Authorities
Case that happened in Manila in the year 1623, in regard to a fugitive who was taken from the church
Juan Soto de Vega, whom justice was prosecuting for having stolen a large sum of money from the ship which was coming from Mejico to Filipinas, had taken refuge in the asylum [sagrado] of the cathedral of Manila. Desirous of escaping from the prosecution of the secular tribunal, he tried to get to Eastern or Portuguese Yndia in the month of December. He begged permission from the provisor and vicar-general, Don Pedro Monrroy, that he might be taken from the cathedral and kept in the ecclesiastical prison; and they actually kept him there, but with guards and in confinement, until the Portuguese boats left for Yndia. Then they returned him to the cathedral, where he remained for the space of eight months, until an auditor took him violently from the church on the fifth of September, 1623, and took him to the public prison. There he, in company with another auditor, tortured Juan de la Vega until they broke his arm, which caused a great public scandal.
The provisor began to take steps in defense of the ecclesiastical immunity. He demanded the criminal, and publicly declared the auditors to be excommunicated, threatening to place them under interdict, unless they would return the prisoner to the church. After the time-limit had expired, the interdict was imposed. The auditors, on the other hand, despatched a letter and a second letter to the provisor charging him to lift the censures and interdict, under penalty of banishment and a fine of 2,000 ducados, unless he did that in the time-limit that they assigned him. As he did not fulfil the command, they despatched the court constable, with soldiers, to look for the provisor in order to arrest him. They registered all the house of the archbishop, and the house of the provisor himself, sequestered his goods, broke off the locks of the cupboards and writing-desks, and ransacked his papers, but did not find him, for he had hidden in the convent of the Augustinians.
The archbishop (against whom the proceedings were directed), seconded by the public opinion, which was contrary to the auditors, summoned Doctor Don Juan de Renteria, bishop of Nueva Segovia (who was then in Manila), and various religious, prebendaries, and lawyers, and assembled or formed a council to discuss what ought to be done in such a case. The opinion of all was that the auditors were legitimately excommunicated, and the interdict rightly imposed; and that the ecclesiastical immunity ought to be sustained, and satisfaction demanded for the scandal by returning the fugitive to the church.
While that meeting was being held, the auditors despatched a royal mandate, which they said was given by Don Felipe, to the archbishop, ordering him not to retain Don Pedro de Monrroy as provisor, as he was exiled from the kingdoms, to absolve the excommunicated, and lift the interdict—under penalty, if he did not do so, of banishment and a fine of 2,000 ducados.