RPH – Monastic Supremacy in the Philippines - on more than one occasion, the voice of poverty has exhaled

touching complaints
Marcelo H. Del Pilar - but who listens to the voice of poverty?
- La Soberenia Monacal en Filipinas, first published in Barcelona, - monastic properties are subject to land titles of ten percent and
Spain, in 1889, and reprinted in Manila in 1898 the increase in their income ought to favor the government
- its publication in Spain was hailed by Spanish liberals and former treasury, but does it perchance?
Spanish administrators in the Philippines, including former - we don’t know
governor-general Emilio Terrero (1885-1888) and Benigno, - the government finance office relies on the sworn statement of
Quiroga, former director general of the civil administration in the the convents, and what official would dare verify that Olympic
Philippines, and such scholars as Miguel Morayta and declaration, as in view of monastic predominance government
Ferdinand Bluementritt employees are daily in danger of losing their positions?
- Jose Rizal, the most cultured of the reformist group called Del - 1887: the provincial government of Laguna tried to get
Pilar’s work as one that had “no chaff” information about the increase in the income of the lands in
- it is all grain Calamba belonging to the Dominican friars
- the translation was made by Dr. Encarnacion Alzona in 1957 - it found out that the annual income of five thousand pesos has
Its Political Aspect been sextupled, amounting to more than thirty thousand pesos
- the interference of the friars in the government of the Philippines - the finance office learned about it; and nothing more
is so ingrained that without difficulty the friars control the status - the Filipinos pay direct taxes consisting of the personal cedula,
quo of the country in defiance of the nation and the institutions urban tax, industrial subsidy, and additional municipal tax,
- in charge of almost all the parishes, their parochial mission takes provincial tax, and personal loan
on the double character of a political organ and popular patronage - besides these, the indirect on of the markets, vehicles, horses,
- this mission gives the curate great power in each locality stamps, and surchanges, slaughter of cattle, river tolls, and
- and this power, as it does not lose its monastic character , is others
at the command of the regular prelates under whose guidance - well then; besides the direct and indirect taxes there exists
the parish priests think, preach, confess, and act with another which, though it does not figure in the financial plan of the
marvelous uniformity Philippines, nevertheless is a burden on her interests
- perhaps the guarantee of the moderating power of the parish - this is what we would call the tax of the religious festivals
priests may be self to society to balance and harmonize the - the papal decree of 2 May 1867 aimed to relieve the Filipino
interests of the people and the institutions Catholics of this burden by reducing the number of feast days and
- but the fact is that the convents are opposed to this equilibrium ordering that each diocese have only one patron saint to be
and harmony named by the Holy See, and in fact this was done
- the hatred and distrust between both elements constitute the life - but it is evident that the will of the Pope is ineffective and
of the convents impotent so far as the regular curates in the Philippine
- to frighten the government with the rebelliousness of the country Archipelago are concerned
and frighten the country with the despotism of the government – - each parish church has a tutelary patron of the town besides the
- despotism: the system that the friars have so skillfully patron saint of one or more confraternities and patron saints of
evolved to be able to rule at the expense of everyone secondary importance venerated in some churches according to
- they offer the government to suppress the country’s the curate’s decision
rebelliousness and the government gives them all its autocratic - their respective saint’s das are celebrated with pomp at the
support, going to the extreme if the friars so demand, while they expense of the people
portray the ruler as the personification of tyranny and despotism - for each celebration are collected large sums of novena,
- they offer the people to soften that tyranny and the people place masses, sermons, processions, music, bands, singers, sacristans,
its wealth in their hands so that they may defend them against bell-ringing, bell-men, curtains, altars, silver candelabra,
official rapacity chandeliers, candles, and the like
- the basis of monastic wealth is the lack of union between the - during these celebrations the townspeople have to keep open
people and the government and it is necessary to foster it by house, entertaining lavishly
fanning the resentment of the first and the despotism of the - in addition, there are fireworks of thousands of skyrockets that
second reduce to smoke the savings of the fervent devotee
- to achieve this, they count on the diversity of languages among - aside from these numerous and costly festivals, in every distinct
the rulers and the ruled where fifty families dwell, a chapel is erected at a cost of a at least
- to preserve that diversity, to impede popular education, and to one thousand pesos
avoid at any cost that the people and the government come to - there was some costing five, ten, and fifteen thousand pesos
understand each other, are the best way of keeping them in - the dues of the stole and the foot of the altar are a legitimate
perpetual antagonism source of revenue of the priesthood
- in the Philippines, religious amortization is very conspicuous - they are not mere alms as they think, they are a just
- ignorance and fanaticism encouraged by the monastic remuneration
institutions and ignoring the claims of blood relations as if they - Jesus Christ and common sense declare that he who works
were contrary to divine law have been responsible for centuries deserves to eat
for the immense number of disinherited families - but the exaggerating collection of some dues without the
- the best lands, the best estates, thus passed to the control of sanction of Jesus Christ hurt the interests of the Catholics and
monastic communities leads them to impious reflections and to inquire in the light of
- today the convents are the millionaires of the country economics about the productive value of this social element
- their large funds cannot be alienated whose manifestations are purely those of the consumer
- their lands are cultivated without the stimulus of the owners and - the Reverend Fathers are empowered to name the persons who
with discouragement on the part of the tillers ought to be departed
- they are leased and the rent increases from time to time and in - and the Government solemnly declares that the parish
proportion to the improvements introduced on the land curate’s opinion suffices so that the deportation may not be
arbitrary
- it is no longer fanaticism that builds this opulence, no: it is fear of - the monastic orders build grand and costly convents in Manila
the group which has been raised to the power which, with no one and in each parish of three thousand souls, they erect a spacious
stroke of the pen or a low whisper, can kill the happiness of one palace for the residence of the regular curate
who obstructs or does not cooperate in the development of its - the government established primary schools in each town
schemes of exploitation - the government houses are made of light materials, like those
Its Religious Aspect destined for the tribunal which hardly approximate the stable of
- in the performance of their duties, the municipal officials depend the friar curators
on the parish priest - the government finds a thousand obstacles in collecting taxes
- to report the conduct of a citizen, the testimony of one hundred from the tax-paying public
members of the principalia is not enough - but the monastic orders empty without the difficulty the pursue of
- the essential requirement is the curate’s approval the same public in return for heavenly promises
- the signature of the curate is necessary to the census of - the government worries about meeting its peremptory financial
residents in a municipality, to the conscription of eligible young needs, but the monastic treasuries are overflowing with money so
men, to formalize accounts and other official documents that their only worry is how to send away from the country their
to everything and for everything the curate’s signature is an copious savings that foster the banking interest of foreign trade
essential requisite - the government refrains from creating new sources of revenue in
- there exist no ruling prescribing the conditions under which the order not to burden Filipino interests, but the friars invent every
curate should grant or withhold his approval day new forms of devotion, some very costly, and the public pay,
- the curate approves it or denies it, according to his will or the not because of fanaticism, but rather, for fear of displeasing the
order of his prelates friars whose power they know has sent many innocent victims to
- supreme orders are carried out if the crate so pleases exile
- if the superior authority tries to demand an energetic - because of this, there is a notable contrast between the poverty
enforcement of his orders, the curate informs the prelate of his of the government and the opulence of the row of poverty
convent and this one obtains dismissal of the public official - the amortization of lands is fatal to agriculture everywhere
- his powerful argument which produces a magical effect is that - experience and economics have shown the needs for laws of
national integrity is in danger and the same litany in everything disentail
- the guarantee of national integrity is not the church nor can it be - in the countries where such wise measures have been adopted,
in the friars capital was immediately channeled to greater and better
- it is in the same popular aspiration of fusing and identifying the production
interests of the Philippines with those of the country that gave her - the sale of religious objects that rise in price by reason of priestly
political life, that shaped and educated her to be worthy of modern blessing constitutes a true and indisputable simony
civilization and sheltered her from the covetousness of foreign - notwithstanding one of the principal sources of income of the
nations monastic order is the trade in religious objects
- to consolidate the fraternity between Spain and Philippines is the - the ready-made belt without priestly blessing costs and is sold at
best defense of national integrity four or five pesos a hundred, but the moment the priest blesses it
- it is Spain’s ideal, it is the dream of the Philippines and the belt passes on to the class of spiritual things and
- if the divisive plan of the friars offers advantages to monastic becomes and object of papal and Episcopal indulgences, from
exploitation, it however jeopardizes the future of the Philippines as that moment the price rises one hundred per cent at least
well as the highest interest of both countries - to the new member of confraternity, it is sold at sixty-two cents,
- even if we assume that the divisive plan of the friars succeeds four eights of a peso each belt, the price going down until twenty-
and for the reason that antagonism between the rules and the five cents minimum when the buyer is an old customer
ruled intensifies, what means of pacification do the convents - what is true of belts is also true of scapulars of the recollect
offer? fathers, of the rosaries of Dominican fathers, of the cords of the
- they will not be government forces, for in the case the power of Franciscan friars, and of various others too many enumerate
monastic saddles would not be necessary
- neither can they command public opinion
- this rejects them: the cry for the immediate expulsion of the friars
is unanimous
- and above all: if the friars command public opinion, from whom
will come the danger to national integrity?
- let the government consider that, let Spain consider that
- for us, we don’t believe it prudent to leave national integrity in the
hands of the friars
- neither it is good for the reigning monarch nor for any political
interest does that monasticism continue to be the arbiter of the
fate of Spain in the Philippine Islands
Its Economic Aspect
- the laws that regulate the foundation and development of
convents in the Philippines are undoubtedly based on the belief
that monastic life is unproductive
- numerous are the regulations pertaining to the manner of
supplying their need for wine, oil and other things of the kind
- but the abundance found in the convents makes laughable the
pity of the government
- the Philippine government lacks resources to undertake public
works