Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

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Part of Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas

Title: Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas
Description: Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas Official Interdiocesan Organ is published monthly by the University of Santo Tomas and is printed at U.S.T. Press, Manila, Philippines.
Issue Date: Volume XLV (Issue No. 503) April 1971
Publisher: University of Santo Tomas
Year: 1971
Language: English; Spanish
Subject: Catholic Church--Philippines--Periodicals.; Philippines -- Religion -- Periodicals.
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Place of publication: Manila
extracted text: • THE PHILIPPINE ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW • THE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO FAMILY-LOYALTY-RELATIONSHIPS Vol. XLV • No. 503 April, 1971 Boletin T7CLESIASTIC0 DE ■CipiLIPINAS EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR JAIME BOQUIREN. O.P JOHN D'AQUINO. O.P EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS FRANCISCO DEL RIO, O.P. QUINTIN M. GARCIA, O.P. JESUS MERINO, O.P. FIDEL VILLARROEL, O.P. LEONARDO Z. LEGASPI, O.P. EFREN RIVERA, O.P. BUSINESS MANAGER FLORENCIO TESTER A, O.P. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Official Interdiocesan Organ is published monthly by the University of Santo Tomas and is printed at U.S.T. Press, Manila, Philippines. Entered as Second Class Mail Matter at the Manila Post Office on June 21, 1946. Subscription Rates. Yearly subscription in the Philippines, P15.00; Two Years, P26.00; Three Years, P40.00. Abroad, $5.00 a year. Price per copy, Pl.50. Subscriptions are paid in advance. Communications of an editorial nature concerning articles, cases and reviews should be addressed to the Editor. Advertising and subscription enquiries should be addressed to the Business Manager. Orders for renewals or changes of address should in elude both old and new address, and will go into effect fifteen days after notification. Address all communications to.BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Fathers’ Residence University of Santo Tomas Manila D-403 Philippines Vol. XLV • 503 April, 1971 TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORIALS Church of Rich and Poor Theology and Social Involvement 258 PAPAL DOCUMENTS Priest’s Identity University Students Have Mission of “Testimony" Abortion and Euthanasia are Murder The New Regulations for the Examination of Doctrinal Questions 261 DOCTRINAL Priest, Doctor, Nurse and Humanae Vitae 273 EPISCOPAL DOCUMENTS Seven Position Papers of the PAMEC (continued) 287 ACTION LINE (Cases, Queries, Letters) Sunday Obligation Bishop, or Theologians? New Decennial Faculties for the Philippines 302 PASTORAL The Priest and the Filipino Family Loyalty Relationships 318 HISTORICAL History of the Church in the Philippines (continued) 333 EdUafualA, Church of Poor and Rich One of the slogans getting popular these days is: "The Church is the Church of the Poor." It is implied that such ;s the teaching of the Bishops at the Pan Asian Conference in Manila last Nov ember 1970. This slogan is used as a premise from which such conclusions, as the following are drawn: Therefore, the Church must give ttway her lands, money and all earthly possessions and be poor. Therefore, the church-man who has nothing is the real church-man while he who possesses something is a fake church-man. Therefore, the Church must indict the rich. Since this slogan has very, serious implications and has caused odious comparisons it seems necessary to analyse it. First of all, did the Asian Bishops make that statement? At their November 1970 meeting they drafted 22 Resolutions, two of which occasioned the slogan. They are: Res. 3 — We resolve to make our special concern the lot ol the workers and the peasants, in particular, to assist in their edu cation and defend their rights in society according to the teach ings of the Church. Res. 4 — We resolve to help secure the basic means ot live lihood for all. In*this context, we strongly commit ourselves to an equitable distribution and socially responsible use of land and other resources within our nations, as also among the nations ol the world. Do these Resolutions mean that the Church is the Church oi the poor? CX do they simply mean that the Church will help the poor? And if the Church intends to help the poor will she be more effective possessing something or having nothing? Secondly, what is the objective worth of this slogan? Since when did the Church belong to just one sector of society? Did not Christ cpme to save all—both poor and rich? Did not Christ go to the house of Zaccheus? And did He not use the tomb of EDITORIALS 259 The Arimathean? What iault have the working and non-abusive rich if they are rich? Indeed, is not this slogan hate-provoking and divisive? Poverty, in itself, is a social evil. The people must have enough ol (he necessary things for life in order that they can turn their mind to spiritual things. That is why the Church, the State, the rich and the poor themselves must work to eradicate poverty. The poor must be raised to a higher standard of living, at least that of the middle class. Now, can we fight poverty if we reduce everybody—Church, State, the rich—to poverty? Though wealth is a bad master, it is a very good servant. You can do plenty of good if you have wealth. Would it not be better if instead of hurling invectives against the rich indiscri minately, we befriend them and give them the Christian moti vation to help their poor brothers? Would it not be better if, instead of reducing the well-off dioceses and parishes to poverty, we raise the poor ones to a higher level of sufficiency? The Second Resolution of the Asian Bishops' Conference is: "...we resolve to uphold and promote the realization of human rights and defend them wherever, whenever, and by whomsoever they are violated."—The rich have also their rights which can be violated by others. Are they not, then, entitled to the protection of and defense by the Church? Theology and Social Involvement At the Philippine Seminary Rectors' Meeting in Baguio on February 17-18, 1971, called by His Excellency Most Rev. Carmine Rocco, the Papal Nuncio, one of the problems discussed was the need for training Filipino theologians and Seminary professors. During the discussions it was observed that among the Filipino priests and seminarians there is a loss of interest in theology and ecclesiastical sciences. On the other hand, there is great interest in social action and social involvement. It was pointed out that this phenomenon is due to the exaggerated emphasis on the latter. Now, is theology (and the other ecclesiastical sciences) still needed in our times? If so, what can be done to encourage the Filipino priests and seminarians to become theologians? 260 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Is social action and social involvement needed in the Church? Definitely. But must every priest and every seminarian be a so ciologist? Are there not different functions in the Christian society ior which the different talents have to be developed? In his article "The Role of the Priest in Social Reform" Fr. Edicio de la Torre, S.V.D. (Phil. Priests Forum, Sept. 1970) enu merates the following functions of the priest: 1. Not to plant nor to plan (social reforms) but to preach the social gospel. 2. Not to take over the lay organizations for social reforms, but to form and motivate the lay leaders. 3. To make moral pronouncements and exert moral pressure whenever it is necessary and prudent to do so. In their effort to improve the lot of the masses, would it not be wise for priests and seminarians to work within these limits? And since these three activities are actually the exercise of the "teaching function" of the priests, does this not show that theo logy is, indeed, needed? Sometimes people are made to understand that priest-theo logians are irrelevant while the priest-socio-reformer is the only relevant one. Let us remember that both are needed by the Church. PRIESTS’ ‘‘PRIMARY DUTY” The People of God finds its unity first of all through the Word of the living God, which is quite properly sought from the lips of the priests. Since no one can be saved who has not first believed, priests, as co-workers with their bishop, have as their primary duty the proclamation of the gospel of God to all. In this way they fulfill the Lord’s command: “Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). Thus they establish and build up the People of God. Vat. II Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, n- 4. THE PRIEST’S IDENTITY1 (1) Address of Pope Paul to the Roman Clergy and Lenten Preachers on February 20, 1971. cf. L’Osservatore Romano, March 4, 1971, p.6 We must limit ourself to the choice of one point only for this brief conversation, one among the many that are impressed on one’s heart. And which one is this? Today it presents itself as a compulsory theme: that oj the Priest’s own “identity”, so-called. It is a theme which certainly troubles you, students of the Seminary, straining towards a definition of your future; a theme which can appear as an angel of light, or as a ghost in the night, in your consciences during an act of reflection on your past, or indeed on the experience of your present. For instance, what is a Priest? The question, at first naive and elemen tary, becomes heavy with deep and worrying doubts. Is the existence of the priesthood really justified in the economy of the New Testa ment, in view of the fact that the Levitical priesthood is finished, and only that of Christ fulfills the function of mediator between God and men, and men, raised to the level of “a chosen race” (1 Pet. 2,9) have been reclothed with their own priesthood which authorizes them to adore the Fther “in spirit and truth” (John 4, 24)? And then, what place and reason for existence is left for the priest in a society all tuned towards temporal and immanent goals, for the priest whose aims are transcendent and eschatological, and who is thus a stranger to the experience which is proper to the worldly man, in this over whelming process of desacralisation, of secularization, which invades and transforms the modem world? The doubt continues. Is the exis tence of a priesthood justified in the original intention of Christianity? 262 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Of a priesthood such as it is determined in its canonical definition? The doubt becomes critical under other aspects— psychological and sociological: is it possible? does it serve any useful purpose? Can it still galvanize a lyrical and heroic vocation? Can it still constitute a way of life that is not alienated or frustrated? The young intuitively guess this aggressive uncertainty, and many are discouraged. Now many vocations are extinguished by this adverse wind! And even some who are already priests sometimes feel this overpowering, interior tor ment; and for some it becomes fear, which alas in others is transformed into courage but only to flee, to defect: “Then the disciples . . . forsook him and fled”; the hour of Gethsemane (Mt. 26, 56)! Confident Awareness of Vocation One hears of the crisis of the priesthood. The fact that you are gathered here at once implies that this crisis has not taken a hold in your souls: what good luck and great grace! This does not ex clude the fact that you also are aware of the dangers, feel the pressures, desire defense. I would like this visit of mine to be in you an in terior and joyful confirmation of your choice. It is for this that I have come today. Nothing is more necessary now than for our clergy to take up a firm stand of awareness and confidence in their own vocations. One could adapt the words of St. Paul to the present sit uation: “Consider your call, Brethren” (1 Cor. 1, 26). I do not wish to analyse and to enter into discussion, You know that there already exists a vast amount of literature on his subject. To books which undermine the security which reassures the Catholic priesthood, there are now books which answer not only by strengthening such secu rity but which enhance it with new arguments, especially the most valid of all, that of an always more enlightened and convinced faith whence the life of a priest draws its enexhaustible source of light, courage, en thusiasm, and of hope. And you know that the Church is at present carrying out at a high level, by theological studies, in Magisterial documents (for instance, we can cite the German Bishops’ letter on the priestly office), and will complete at the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, the doctrinal and canonical confirmation of its priestly struc ture. THE PRIEST’S IDENTITY 263 A Stimulating Question I now wish only to make two points. The first: do not fear this uncertainty over the priesthood. It could be providential, if we really know how to draw from it the stimulation to renew the genuine con cept and updated exercise of our priesthood. But also, unfortunately, it could become destructive if one attributes more importance that is deserved to commonplace platitudes — circulated today with such faci lity— concerning this crisis of the priesthood, which some wish to make appear fatal, either by novelties of tendentious biblical studies, or by the authority of sociological phenomena, studied by means of statistical inquiries, or by surveys of psychological and moral phenomena. These are interesting facts, if you wish, worthy of serious consideration by competent and responsible people, but they are never enough to shake our conception of the identitiy of the priesthood, provided this coin cides with its authenticity, which the word of Christ and the derived and proven tradition of the Church delivers intact to our generation and, moreover, after the council, in a way which has been deepened. As you well know, such authenticity is maintained even in face of the areligious modern world, which precisely because it is so and because it has reached enormous progress in exploration and the con quest of things accessible to our experience, is conscious of, and will be still more conscious of the mystery of the universe that surrounds it and the illusion of one’s own self-sufficiency, exposed by one’s own very development to the danger of aridity and being no longer of use, and stimulated by the exasperating attempt to reach the ulimate truth and the life which never dies. • Pray, Work and Hope In a world such as ours, the need for someone to carry out a mission of transcendent truth, of supermotivated goodness, of eschato logical salvation — the need for Christ — is increased, not cancelled. And we do not despair of the youth of our time, as though it were refractory and allergic to the most bold and binding vocation, that of God’s Kingdom. We must pray, work and hope: “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Luke 3, 8). We have faith in you, young students of the Church’s school, and in you, 264 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS our brothers in the priesthood and collaborators in the ministry. We are sure that from the ever true knowledge of the Catholic faith you will know how to draw living strength and new forms to continue the dialogue with the modern world. The Council offers you its volume, which you will not guard in vain. And all of you, sons and brothers have faith in your Bishop! He has nothing of the attraction of life to promise to those who love this life. But to him who loves Christ, and loves the Church, and his brothers, he can offer that which strengthens such great love-faith, sacrifice, service, in fact the Cross, and with this, strentgh, joy and peace, and also the extreme horizons of eternal hope. And all this we shall accomplish, united together in the reassembling of that Roman presbyterium, of that ecclesial com munity which makes us anxious and hopeful to realize in continuous and patient tension Christ’s testamentary prayer: that they all may be one. (John 17, 21). The other point is that which always echoes in this hall of watch ful devotion to the priesthood: “Mary, my mother, my trust”. It is the feast of the Madonna here — and so venerated — that now unites us, and without any devotional or conventional artifice, sheds light on the conversatio, the relationship, that is, the intimacy, let us say even the dialogue, which must exist between the ecclesiastic, the pupil, whether he be deacon or priest, and the Virgin Mother of God. The family feast of this Seminary leads us from the thought of our anxious controversy and our confident defense of the priesthood to that of Mary, Mother of Christ. Not that we can attribute to the preroga tives of the priesthood, nor the priesthood those proper to the Madonna, but there exist analogies and connections between the ineffable totality of charisms, with which Mary is endowed — which we would always do well to study and profit from — and priestly office. It is from this harmony that our own formation can be ever more perfected: “Until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4, 19), and our priestly ex perience can be enriched by it. It is, above all, this harmony which can transport us, by existential means, almost by enchantment, into the evangelical realm, where the Madonna and her Son, Jesus, lived. In this way she is immediately mistress of this return to the scriptural sources, about which so much is said today, and immediately she THE PRIEST’S IDENTITY 265 awakens in us that depth of life, that very personal activity which is our interior conscience: reflection, meditation, and prayer. We must think and model our existence in an intensified way. Even though it be good in itself, we cannot have an exterior action of ministry, of speech, of charity of apostolate which is truly priestly, if it does not arise from and does not return to its source and interior fount. Our devotion to Mary educates us to this indispensable act of reflection in a dual way: because it leads us to the Gospels, which inspire us and can be our gauge, and because we meet the Madonna in this identical attitude, meditating over the events of her life, “she considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be” (Luke 1, 29); “pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2, 51). Mary discovers a mystery in everything that pertained to her; and it could not be otherswise for her, who was so near to Christ. Can it be any different for us who are so near to Christ that we are authorized to be “stewards of God’s mysteries” (cfr. 1 Cor. 4, 1), and to celebrate them “in the person of Christ” ? Mary’s Example Introduced into this path of research into the example of Mary, our whole life finds its “form” (cfr. Phil. 2, 7), the spiritual, the moral, and especially the ascetic. Is not Mary’s life entirely permeated with faith? “Blessed is she who believed! ” (Luke 1, 45) is Eliza beth’s greeting; and one can give no higher praise to her, whose life is entirely encircled by faith. The Council has acknowledged this (cfr. Lumen Gentium, 53, 58, 61, 63 etd.). And does not our priestly life perhaps have the same plan; must it not be a life that derives its very existence, its qualification, its final hope, from faith? And al so — our lips tremble with her privileged title — she is the Virgin. Christ wished to be born of a Virgin, and what a Virgin! The Immaculate one! Does this mean nothing, this drawing near to the Immaculate Virgin in our choice of the ecclesiastical state, which should be, not repressed, but exalted, transfigured, and strengthened by holy celibacy? Today we hear the negative side criticized, to the point of calling it inhuman and impossible: that is, the renouncing of sensual love and of the marriage bond, which is a normal, very worthy and 266 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS holy expression of human love. Drawing near to Mary we are aware of the triple and superior, positive value of celibacy, which so well becomes the priesthood-, first, the perfect and religious mastery of self (remember St. Paul: “I pommel my body and subdue it. . .”?) (1 Cor. 9, 27), an indispensable domination for those dealing with the things of God and who become teachers and doctors of souls, and a luminous sign of direction to Christians, and to worldly people, showing the way which leads to God’s Kingdom. Second, ecclesiastical celibacy guarantees that the priest will be completely available for the pastoral ministry — this is obvious. Third, a unique love, sacrificial, incomparable and inextinguishable for Christ our Lord, Who from the Cross entrusted his Mother to the care of the disciple John, who ac cording to tradition remained a virgin: “Behold thy son; behold thy mother ... (John 19, 26-27). Model of Obedience And so you say, always taking Mary as our Model, of her ab solute obedience which places her in the Divine design: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord . . .” (Luke 1, 38) You say thus of her humility, of her poverty, of her service to Christ. Everything in Mary is an example for us. You say thus of her magnanimous courage, superior to that of all other classic figures of moral heroism. She was “beside the cross of Jesus” (John 19, 25), to remind us that as sharers in the one priesthood of Christ, we must also share in His mission of redemption, that is, be victims with Him, wholly consecrated and offered to the service and salvation of men. We can meditate in this way on the prophecy that weighed on Mary’s heart during her whole life — the impending, mysterious sword of the Passion of Our Lord (cfr. Luke 2, 35) —and we can in this way apply to ourselves the words of the Apostle: “In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church, of which I became a minister” (Col. 1, 24). It then becomes easy, sweet, and strengthening, to repeat the beautiful ejaculatory prayer: “Mary, my mother, my trust”, today and always in our priestly lives. XXX THE PRIEST’S IDENTITY 267 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HAVE MISSION OF “TESTIMONY”* Certainly, today the situation in the Universities has changed, sometimes radically, from what it was at the time of our ministry at F.U.C.I.;* 2 and it is difficult to give advice, so different is the at mosphere. But a fundamental problem remains: the relationship between University learning (at the highest level, that is, of human thought) and religious, or rather Christian and Catholic mentality. If this rela tionship is positive, the advantage it yields is twofold: both for thought and for faih. * L’Osservatore Romano, Fib. 18, 1971. p. 3 2 F.U.C.I. — Italian Catholic University Federation. It seems to us that, today as then, the mission of the Catholic student at a University is to testify on the existential plane or, more simply, by example, to this double advantage. That is, he who thinks and studies better is more fit to believe and pray, owing to the mar velous broad-mindedness and independence of judgment that he acquires in contact with the great realities of thought, history, culture, the cosmos, etc., studied with the scientific method, according to the specializaion of each one. On the other hand, he who believes and professes his faith better, receives greater light and enthusiasm for his studies, because he is illuminated by the very light of the revealed Word, and helped by means of grace to “live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world” (cfr. Tit. 2, l). Student as Witness This, it seems to us, is the testimony that is required of the young Catholic today. Like you, he must be able to draw inspiration and strength from the sincere profession of his faith to carry out his duty of study and apostolate. The Church, which, as Vatican II said, “has her role to play in the progress and spread of education” because she “must be concerned with the whole of man’s life” (Gravissimum Educations, intr.), expects from her children an active presence in the University today. It is not an easy undertaking. This was recognized by our great Predecessor in the Sees of Saint Ambrose and Saint 268 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Charles, and of St. Peter, Pius XI, in a letter to the episcopate of the Philippines, on 18 January 1939: “It will seem a very difficult enter prise — he wrote — to pentrate and exercise a healthy influence in the lives of University students. This difficulty must be a strong stimulus to begin this work with a generous heart, abandoning oneself con fidently to divine grace which can triumph over all difficulties. In fact, a conforting experience tells us that young people burning with apostolic ... are gradually able, as a result of their virtue and their active faith, publicly professed, to become centers of attraction for their fellow students and suitable instruments for the conquest of souls” (A.A.S. 34, 1942, Appendix, p. 260). Constant Effort Needed For this presence, which is so necessary today, to be really effective, a constant effort is necessary to make it sensitive, watchful, open, modest maybe, but serious and full of friendship for everyone, in order that even those who do not share our ideas know they can find in the militant Catholic an open mind and a militant heart, in a word, a man who can be trusted and depended on, because he really believes and really loves, according to the Gospel. May this be your presence in the difficult University world of today, in such need of concrete examples of consistency and total commitment. May you be strengthened in this by the knowledge that the Pope, with the same affection as of old, is following you and praying for you, and wholeheartedly imparts the Apostolic Blessing, which he extends to the zealous priests dedicated to your complete human and Christian formation. xxx “ABORTION AND EUTHANASIA ARE MURDER”1 Now We address the television audience on channel II of the French television. We are pleased to greet you, to express Our affec tion for you and to address a few words to you about the respect due to human life. 1 L’Osservatore Romano, Feb. 11, 1971, p. 2 THE PRIEST’S IDENTITY Brother and friends who are listening to me: As you know, there are human values which are like the touchstone of a civilization; if we undermine them, then man himself is threatened. To attack human life under any pretext whatsoever and under whatever form we view it is to repudiate one of the essential values of our civilization. In the very depths of our consciences — as each one of us experien ces— we affirm as an incontestable and sacred principle respect for every form of human life, that is awakening, life that asks only to develop, life that is drawing to a close, life especially that is weak, unprovided for. The Council has recently recalled with emphasis that all life is sacred. Except in the case of legitimate defence, nothing ever authorizes a man to take the life of another man, and more so never his own life. If it be necessary to go against the current of what is sometimes being thought and said on all sides, then let us never grow weary of repeating it: all human life must be absolutely respected; in fact, abor tion and euthanasia are murder Brothers and friends listening to me: our life, the life of your parents and children, the life of all men, this frail life that passes so quickly, in spite of the trails that cross it, is our most precious good. This is a conviction of faith for those among us who believe in Christ and whom the Gospel teaches that our earthly death is a passage to eternal life. xxx THE NEW REGULATIONS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF DOCTRINAL QUESTIONS1 1. Books and other publications or conferences, the content of which engages the concern of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine In accordance with the Mom Proprio Integrae servandae of 7 December, 1965, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has established and now publishes the following “procedure” for the examination of the doctrinal questions. 1 L’Osservatore Romano, Feb. 18, 1971, p. 5 270 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS of the Faith, are referred to the Congress which is composed of Supe riors and Officials and meets every Saturady. If the matter under examination clearly and certainly contains some error of faith and if, at the same time, any immediate harm to the faithful threatens or already has resulted from it, the Congress may decide that the extra ordinary mode of procedure is to be followed, namely that the Or dinary or Ordinaries concerned should be informed immediately and the author be invited by his own Ordinary to correct the error. When it has received the reply from the Ordinary or Ordinaries concerned the Ordinary Assembly (Congregatio Ordinaria') will take what steps seem opportune in accordance with the later paragraphs NN. 16, 17, 18. 2. The Congress likewise decides whether certain writings or speeches should be subject to more detailed examination through the ordinary method of procedure. In this case it will appoint two experts to prepare a statement of their considered judgment (voti) and also an Intermediary to represent the author (Relator “pro auctore”). The Congress will also decide whether it is necessary to inform the Ordinary or Ordinaries concerned immediately or only after the enquiry is con cluded. 3. Those commissioned to formulate their expert judgments on the question will examine the actual text of the author for this purpose, in order to see whether it is in conformity with Divine Revelation and the Magisterium of the Church; and they will give their judgment upon the teaching contained herein, with suggestions as to the action to be taken, should the case call for this. 4. The Cardinal Prefect, the Secretary and, in their absence, the Subsecretary have the power, in case of urgency, to entrust the formula tion of a considered judgment to one of the Consultors; but only the Congress designates a specially commissioned expert. 5. The required judgments are printed, together with the Official Report in which all the information contributing to a proper estimate of the matter in hand and the record of previous action pertaining to the same are contained; and finally such documents are printed as may be helpful towards a more penetrating enquiry, especially from a theolo gical point of view, into the question at issue. THE PRIEST’S IDENTITY 271 6. The Report, together with the judgments already mentioned, are passed to the Intermediary; he also has the right to inspect the documents on the case in the possession of the Sacred Congregation. It is the business of the Intermediary to point out, in the interest of truth, the sound features in the doctrine concerned and the merits of the author, to cooperate in ensuring a true interpretation of the author’s thoughts in both a theological and general context, to reply to the observations of the Recorders and Consultors, and to express a judgment as to the influence exercised by the author’s opinions. 7. This same Report, together with the judgments and other docu ments, is given to the Consultors at least a week before the matter is discussed in the Council of Consultors. 8. The discussion in the Council begins with an exposition on the part of the Intermediary. After this, each Consultor gives his view, either viva voce or in writing, as to the content of the text under exam ination. Thereupon the Intermediary may ask leave to speak in order to reply to the observations or to explain some point more clearly; he then leaves the auditorium whilst the Consultors give their verdict. 9. Then the whole Report, together with the findings of the Consultors, the intermediation on behalf of the author and a summary of the discussion, is distributed to the Ordinary Assembly of the Cardinals of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at least a week before the matter is to be discussed by the members thereof; each of the seven Bishop members living outside Rome is fully entitled to take part in the Ordinary Assembly. 10. The Ordinary Assembly is presided over by the Cardinal Prefect who expounds the matter in hand and gives his view of the same; the others follow in due order. The views of all are recorded in writing by the Subsecretary so that after the discussion and voting they maybe read over and approved. 11. The Cardinal Prefect or the Secretary, in the weekly audience accorded to them alternately, submits these decisions to the Supreme Pontiff for his approval. 272 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS 12. If in the examination as envisaged by para. 2, no erroneous or dangerous opinions are detected, this result is conveyed to the Ordinary, should he have been previously informed, of the examination. If, on the other hand, false or dangerous opinions are discovered, this is made known to the author’s Ordinary or to the Ordinaries concerned. 13. The propositions held to be erroneous or dangerous are commu nicated to the author in order that he may transmit his reply within a working period of a month. If there is, in addition, need for a personal interview, the author will be invited to meet and confer with those appointed for the purpose by the Sacred Congregation. 14. Those thus appointed must provide in writing at least a sum mary of the interview and must sign the same together with the author. 15. Both the written reply of the author and the summary of a subsequent interview, if any, will be presented to the Ordinary Assembly for a final decision. If, however, from the author’s written reply or from the personal interview new points needing more accurate scrutiny should emerge, the written reply or the summary of the interview is previously submitted to the Council of Consultors. 16. If, however, the author does not reply or, being summoned to an interview, does not appear, the Ordinary Assembly will take what measures seem opportune. 17. The Ordinary Assembly also decides whether and for what reason the result of the examination is to be made public. 18. The decisions of the Ordinary Assembly are submitted for the approbation of the Supreme Pontiff and thereafter communicated to the Ordinary of the author concerned. The Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, in an audience granted to the Car dinal Prefect of this Sacred Congregation on 8 January 1971, confirmed and approved these Regulations and ordered their publication. Rome, the 15th day of January 1971. f Paul Philippe Secretary Francis Cardinal Seper Prefect PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE AND “HUMANAE VITAE’’ In spite of all that has been said and written on this subject, or perhaps on that very account, there still seems to be a considerable amount of unease and uncertainty on the matter among the laity, and even among doctors and priests. People have complained that some Catholic doctors, and even certain priests speak as if no encyclical had ever appeared. As one person expressed it: “Everything seems to be an authority on this question except the Pope.” All this confusion is quite unnecessary and can only do harm. The matter has been officially decided and it should be dead and buried long ago. But somehow its “ghost” is being constantly “evoked” by certain writers; and every time it “appears”, surrounded by its aura of mystery and mystification, the false impression is created that the Church is still in doubt on this question, and that it is best left to the consciences of the faithful. In an effort to “lay this ghost”, the following considerations are respectfully submitted to those priests and layfolk, who sincerely wish to follow the teaching of the Church, as clearly enunciated by the Vicar of Christ. In doing so, they need not have the slightest fear of being either wrong or out of date. First we shall give some basic principles; then go through some more practical cases; and finally say something on the problem of distent. BASIC PRINCIPLES The Pope has made his intention perfectly clear. There is a short passage in the encyclical, which was omitted in some English transla tions. It is addressed directly to priests, and reads as follows: “Speak 274 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS with confidence, beloved sons, fully convinced that the Spirit of God, while He assists the teaching authority of the Church in proposing doctrine, illumines internally the hearts of the faithful, inviting them to give their assent." From this it is clear that the Pope is not pro posing mere recommendations in the encyclical or just giving his own personal opinions. As Vicar of Christ, Head of the Church and Chief Shephered of the whole flock, he is re-affirming the teaching of the Church and giving an authentic interpretation of divine law. We may call it a “guideline”, if we prefer that word. But it is a guideline in the sense in which all God’s laws are guidelines. God does not use force, even in His most important commandments; because He has made man a free and responsible person. The encyclical’s teaching is a guideline in the same way as “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is a guideline. We are able to ignore it, or to disobey it. But we are not free to do so, because sin destroys freedom and turns it into slavery. “Truly, truly I say to you”, says Jesus, “everyone who commits sin, is a slave to sin.” (Jn. 8:34.) With equal clarity the Pope describes the evil which he means to condemn. It is an intrinsic evil. This means that it is so bad, of its very nature, that nothing cah make it good and no circumstances can ever justify it. Like blasphemy or adultery, it is always wrong. Here are his words: “To justify conjugal acts made intentionally infecund, one cannot invoke as valid reasons, the lesser evil ...” “As a matter of fact, if it is sometimes licit to tolerate a lesser evil, in order to avoid a, greater evil or to promote a greater good, it is not licit, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil, so that good may follow therefrom. This would be to make something which is intrinsically disorder, (and hence un worthy of the human person), into an object of the positive act of the human will; even though the intension is to safeguard or promote individual, family, or social welfare.” The words: “to made intentionally infecund” will be of special importance, when we come to deal with practical cases. This will be no mere hair-splitting or casuistry, but a genuine attempt to find a right object for the choice of the will. This is man’s moral nature as God has made it. Man is made to avoid evil and do good. Only when he chooses what is good, is he truly free. He may often have to tolerate evil done by others, but he should not do evil himself. PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE 275 The Pope declares that intentional contraception is never morally right. In this he is only following the traditional attitude of the Church, as affirmed by his predecessors, Pius XI, Pius XII and John XXIII. When these Popes said it, there was no great public outcry, at least within the Church. Indeed the chief concern of theologians at that time was, whether the statement was even infallible. Why the violent storm of dissent when Paul VI says the same thing? We shall see the answer when we come to speak of dissent. Before applying this teaching to practical cases, it will be helpful to refresh our memories by re-reading a few pertinent quotations from Vatican II. FOUR CONCILIAR STATEMENTS. (1) . “In the formation of their consciences, the Christian faithful ought carefully to attend to the sacred and certain doctrine of the Church. The Church is by the will of Christ, the teacher of truth. It is her duty to give utterance to, and authoritatively to teach, that truth which is Christ Himself, and also to declare and confirm by her authority those principles of the moral order, which have origin in human nature itself.” (Decl. Human Freedom. No. 14.). (2) “The parents themselves should make this judgment (about the number of their children), in the sight of God. But in their man ner of acting, spouses should be aware that they cannot proceed arbitrarily. They must always be governed according to a conscience dutifully conformed to the divine law .itself, and should be submissive towards the Church’s teaching office, which authentically interprets that law in the light of the gospel.” (Modern World. No. 50.). (3) “Sons of the Church may not undertake methods of regulating procreation, which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law.” (Modern World. No. 50.). (4) “Religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic teaching of the Pope, even when he is not teaching infallibly; the judgments made by him must be sincerely ad hered to, according to his manifest mind and will.” (Cons, on Church. No. 25.). 276 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS PRACTICAL CASES In solving these cases, we take our stand firmly on this teaching of the Pope and the Church: “Intentional contraception is intrinsically evil, and nothing can justify it, in any circumstances whatsoever.” Here is moral truth, not infallible, but certain, with that certainty which the teaching authority of the Church gives us in Christ’s name; so that there is not the slightest reasonable fear of error. Here is the will of God for us. From this starting point, we proceed according to the ordinary principles of moral theology, which are the principles of reason and common sense. (1) . First come the well-known cases where a natural tendency to infertility is already presumed to exist. This tendency may be furthered by medical treatment. This is not hindering nature, but rather helping it. Examples are: the lactation period (and this includes those cases where the mother is not actually breast-feeding the child.). Also the menopause period, right from the time of its onset; and certain diseases which medical opinion judges to have this natural tendency to infertility. The prescribing of anovulants in such cases is not con traception as condemned. (2) . Next come the cases of double effect. Treatment is given for some other immediate purpose, yet it involves contraception. Both effects occur at one and the same time; only the good one is intended, the other is tolerated as unavoidable. Examples: treatment to regulate the monthly cycle; to avoid the unusual phenomenon of multiple ovula tion, etc. Naturally such treaments are temporary. If they were to become permanent, we should soon find ourselves devoid of any inten tion except direct contraception. In this connection two cases may be mentioned which have led to serious error. This has happened even with distinguished doctors right here in the Philippines. One doctor is reported as claiming that the regular use of the “safe-period” nearly always leads to a serious pathological condition of the womb. To avoid this, he prescribes con traceptive injections or pills. He justifies himself on the plea that this treatment is prophylactic. It certainly is; because the word prophylactic PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE 277 means “preventive”. But the quesion is: what is he preventing? He is directly preventing conception. He is substituting contraception for the “safe-period”, and using this as a means of avoiding future trouble. But evil may not be directly intended, either in itself or as a means to some good end. The end does not justify the means; it is never right to do wrong. One might, for instance, prescribe decapitation as a means of avoiding chronic headache. The remedy would be radical and effective, but immoral. The second case is of a prominent Catholic doctor, who is reported as having said at a seminar: “People in the barrios cannot understand or apply the “safe period”, and so they can use the pills.” It is another case of unlawful substitution. Since intentional contraception is intrinsically evil, it may not be used as a substitute for anything whatsoever. It would not be just to blame these doctors; but this serves to reveal the “climate of confusion” that exists among us. Perhaps we priests should blame ourselves for not having helped to clarify the situation. Seme claim to see no difference morally, between contraception and the use of the “safe period”. But in the first case, one takes unlawful control of nature; while in the second, one takes advantage of something which nature actually gives. A simple illustration will make this plain: Two men are waiting at a conrner for transport home. One takes advantage of the offer of a ride in the car of a passing friend. The other, when no one is observing, takes possession of a vacated car and drives off. Both men get horpe by car; but there is a great difference in their respective methods of doing so. One acts rightly, the other is a thief. Others say: “If nature sometimes produces a condition of infer tility, why cannot we do the same artificially, when it suits us?” Because we do not have complete control over nature; we have its use, not its abuse. Nature, for example, produces death for all; but this does not justify man in causing death. (3) . Then there are the cases noted by Pius XI nearly forty years ago: “those who are sinned against, rather than sinning.” For example, a wife may be compelled by her husband to give material 278 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS co-operation in his use of a contraceptive; or she may even be forced by him to use a contraceptive herself, e.g. pills or a diaphragm. (She should not use an I.U.D., as we shall see later.). She does not ap prove in the least, but merely tolerates the evil, for very grave reasons, e.g. to avoid continual quarrelling over her refusal, the break-up of the family etc. Sound moralists agree that she need not feel disturbed in conscience in accepting the concomitant pleasure; but she must take care to keep her will in line with the will of God, so that in her heart, she condemns her husband’s sin and regrets it, doing her best at the same time to bring him to a better frame of mind. For a serious reason, a wife may tolerate, without approving, her husband’s withdrawal. It is not her sin; but she should try to find a remedy by the use of the “ovulation method” or other wavs of deter mining the safe period. But in case of withdrawal, the husband is practising intentional contraception, no matter how good his reason for doing so. But the precise degree of his guilt can vary according to circumstances. (4) . Some cases of moral coercion can be regarded as equivalent to “marital rape”. For example, a husband under dire threats unjustly demands intercourse at a time when he has a grave duty to abstain Perhaps he is an habitual drunkard, or his wife’s health may be im perilled, or more children cannot possibly be supported etc. All this is a direct attack on his wife and she may defend herself against this marital rape, e.g. by means of anovulant pills or a diaphragm. Her good intention is to prevent such rape, though this involves at the same time, through her husband’s perversity, the prevention of concep tion. There can be many cases like the above; but we must sound a note of warning. These cases should be dealth with on a personal and individual basis, under the guidance of a prudent confessor; and, if possible the husband should not know of his wife’s precautions, lest he be induced to sin with greater impunity. His conversion is always our aim. If we allowed the wholesale following of these principles, especially in the context of the population explosion myth, and the questionable Family Planning Campaigns which are being waged in the PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE 279 Philippnies to-day, we might only induce a general indifference to the divine law, with great injury to family life and to the future of the nation. We must remember that in these cases, one partner is breaking the divine law, at least materially. This is something to be remedied, not multiplied. What about the unusual case where it is the wife who is the of fending party, by unlawfully using anovulants or a diaphragm? May the husband use, or even ask for, his marriage rights? Yes, for a serious reason, e.g. to avoid danger of incontinence etc. Of course, it should be clear that where both parties freely agree to use contraceptives,, it is a case of intentionl contraception, and the whole concept of Christian Marriage is being profaned. Much modern sentimental confusion of thought on this point, comes from a misunder standing and misuse of the word “love”. Love is not self-satisfaction, but the very opposite; love finds its perfect fulfillment in complete self-sacrifice. It is always thinking of others, never of self; it finds itself in forgetting self. Sex is not the same thing as love.; often it proves to be a total perversion of the whole idea of love. Sex is a department of love, a very sacred department, and its use belongs only in marriage. In that sacred setting sex takes on the whole nature of love and becomes completely self-forgetting and self-giving. Out of that context, it is like a limb out of joint or like a small chifd who has strayed from home. (6) . In the above cases, we ruled out the I.U.D. completely. Why? Even if the I.U.D. is considered just as a contraceptive, it can always be the occasion of abortion. -If the I.U.D. fails in its main purpose of preventing, and if conception actually takes place (and doc tors admit about a three percent chance of this) what will happen? Is it possible for the child to develop naturally, despite the I.U.D.? Yes. But there is great danger of abortion. Now a right conscience will not run the least risk of injuring unborn life, when other means are available to protect the mother. But a whole school of experts refuse to see the I.U.D. as a mere contraceptive. They claim that its function is abortofacient. It induces the womb to reject, rather than accept, the new life that may be present. In view of all this, the deci sion of the moralist is clear: the I.U.D. must always be ruled out. 280 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Here we may mention incidentally that the Australian physician, Dr. John Billings, claims to have abundant clinical evidence to demons trate that the quite lawful “ovulation method” is far safer than any contraceptive. He has lectured on this subject in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sth. America and New Zealand. There is every hope that other law ful ways will be found. (7) . What is to be thought of the foreign-sponsored Family Planning Clinics working in the Philippines? These clinics are prepared to offer advice on lawful methods of birth regulation; but they devote most of their attention, as well as a highly-geared propaganda, to ways that are not lawful for conscientious Catholics, especially to the pro pagation and insertion of the I.U.D. Cases have reported where the bait of a money bribe has been held out. They are taking advantage of uniformed or misinformed consciences. The number of Filipinos who are ready to go against the teaching of the Pope is very small indeed. No doubt most of those immediately engaged in this work are sincere, but the ultimate pressure comes from elsewhere; from the World Bank, world politics and world opinion. On this point, Mr. Clark writes, in his politics and world opinion. On this point, Mr. Colin Clark writes, in his booklet “Putting the Population Explosion in Perspective”: “The hysterical frenzy with which many British and American writers are now demanding population limitation in Asia and Africa, in my opinion, contains a strong element (albeit uncons cious) of racialism, one of tht most powerful poisons of our world to-day. They see clearly that, at present rates of population growth, the Asian and African peoples will become politically and economically preponderant in the world, and they cannot bear the prospect.” (8) . Is it lawful for Catholic doctors, nurses and others to work for these clinics? The difficulty of finding other work may excuse mere material co-operation in unlawful work; but nothing can excuse formal co-operation in contraception. This means that they should do nothing to further the spread of contraception; they should not give wrong advice or propagate the use of contraceptive devices, especially the I.U.D. On the contrary, they should confine themselves to giving right advice and do everything possible to minimize the evil effects PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE 281 of these clinics. They cannot be penalized for this attitude, since the government has declared its support only for lawful means of family limitation. (9) . Would it be wise to accept finance from these organizations for the purpose of conducting responsible parenthood centres? On the face of it, this seems to be the best way of counteracting the evil. But such a decision rests with the bishops; and perhaps it is not as simple as it looks. (10) . In exercising parental responsibility regarding the number of their children, should parents consider also the condition of their country? In places where this is necessary, yes. But in the Philippines parents need rather to be protected against unsound propaganda, which is sometimes spread unwittingly even by Catholic organizations. For example, very impressive statistics are adduced to encourage the cutting down of national population. Such figures can be a faith ful record of the past; but as a long-term forecast of the future, they are quite unreliable and so misleading. Equally fallacious is the argument that the Philippines must reduce its population, because though potentially rich, it is actually poor. This argument overlooks the fact that people are the chief element in all progress; by reducing them deliberately, we lessen that zest for life and that faith in life which contribute so much to national development. Such a line of thinking is an escape from our real problems, a facile way to evade the very challenges that will truly develop our people. In any case, lawful methods of family planning, while they help individual families, make practically no difference to total national po pulation. Even contraception fails in this, unless it is combined with abortion on a large scale. And this is what actually happens. In those countries where contraception spreads, the rate of voluntary abortions rises sharply. On this subject, Mr. Colin Clark (a world authority), writes: “Family limitation may be, in some cases, an urgent need for the family concerned; and there are morally legitimate means by which it can be brought about. But where the need is not urgent, parents who limit 282 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS their families, however morally legitimate the means, are doing some thing to weaken their country’s political and economic future; and parents who enlarge their families, are strengthening their country and civilization.” THE TESTIMONY OF EXPERIENCE. The present writer wishes to put on record his own pastoral ex perience in this matter over the last forty years. He met this problem in another country in the early 30’s, when it was much more acute than it is to-day, on account of the world depression. He found that the most difficult cases to deal with were precisely those who had least reason to limit their families. Genuine cases were always ready to be generous, sometimes to the point of heroism. In general, deliberate failure in this matter tended to have quite a disastrous effect on women. It seemed to make them less womanly and rather hard-hearted. They became unspiritual and material-minded. They had less faith and trust in the providence of God. In saying this, we do not wish to deny that in the Philippines to-day, especially in a city like Manila, there are many deserving cases who need help. And it is a great charity for doctors and clinics to give them that help in the right way. THE CONFESSOR. The good confessor, while he remains firm in upholding the divine law, will be all kindness, charity, understanding and patience with those who fail in their sincere efforts to love and obey God's will. It is not for him to assign the precise degree of personal guilt- His chief aim must be to encourage, by recommending prayer and the sacraments. He will never allow them to lose heart, but rather to trust in the good God at all times. But he will not make the sentimental mistake of thinking that they can be helped by a mere humanistic approach, that minimizes the Church’s teaching, and forgets to see in this teaching the loving, tender wisdom of the heavenly Father. This would be what the Pope calls “inhuman humanism.” It would be to ignore the fact that what makes man truly human, truly different from the beasts, is precisely his sonship of God. PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE 283 The wise confessor will not try to solve cases on relativist or personalist principles. The relative and the personal are extremely important, but they can never be made a substitute for that basic ob jective morality, insisted on by the Sriptures and the teaching Church. He will never positively say that wrong is right for anyone. He will not evade his duty by throwing this difficult problem on to the cons ciences of his penitent. This would be to rob them of the guidance of the Church and to run the risk of betraying the divine law. In the confessional he is not just acting as a psychiatrist or a counsellor, he is in reality the pardoning Christ, who says: “Thy sins are forgiven thee.”; and who adds: “Go, and now sin no more.” With more dif ficult tension cases, the Holy Spirit will help him to lead them gently to a more normal frame of mind. THE PROBLEM OF DISSENT. If dissent were a decisive factor in tht Church’s teaching, then most of her doctrines would have vanished long ago; and first among them, the key doctrine of Christ’s divinity, which was sharply disputed for more than a hundred years. Even in apostolic times, St. Paul, in his farewell speech to the pastors of the Church of Ephesus, warned them of future dissent: “After my departure, fierce wolves will come among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your onn selves will arise men speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert.” (Acts 20:29 . . .) And there was a time in the history of the Church, in the days of Arius, when 809< of the bishops were actually in heresy; so that St. Jerome complained sadly: “The whole world groans to find itself Arian.” And so, dis sent need not trouble us. But it is useful to see and understand just how the present dissent arose. We know that the Pope, as Vicar of Christ and Visible Head of the Church, has in his person the fulness of the teaching authority of all the bishops of the world. In union with him, they are even in fallible. Even in his ordinary teaching, the Pope is speaking in the 284 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS name of all the bishops because he is speaking in the name of the Church and of Christ. Normally the Holy Spirit will guide Pope and bishops into harmony. But if a dispute should happen to arise among them on some matter of faith or morals, they know that their ultimate guarantee of truth, lies in union with him. This indeed is the special function of the Pope, as he Divine Master promised Peter: “to confirm the faith of his brethren.” (Lk. 22:32, Jn. 21:15-18, Matt. 16:18,19.). But in our present case, all the bishops of the Catholic world accepted the encyclical. The only point was that a few of them (out of thousands) because of difficulties in their own dioceses, wrote ambigously, to say the least, regarding its implementation. This led to positive errors. WHY TROUBLE IN THESE DIOCESES? The answer to this question is simple. The Pope had already directed bishops and priests to follow the traditional teaching of the Church and not to discuss the matter publicly any more, until his decision was given. He told them that the Church was not in doubt on the matter. She was merely reflecting in order to see how her teaching might best be stated to meet modem difficulties. Unfor tunately, in some places, these directives were not followed. Priests and others assumed to themselves the teaching office of the Church. They gave decisions to the faithful and even propagated the idea that the Church was going to change her teaching on this subject. Many were led into error. Finally, when the Pope’s decision was given, there was much embarrassment. If these bishops and their priests admitted openly that they had given wrong advice, perhaps many of the faith ful might be scandalized into leaving the Church altogether. And so, for pastoral reasons, the bishops compromised and temporized, leaving all to the consciences of the faithful, in the hope that truth would ultimately prevail. Whether this was a wise decision or not, time alone will tell. PRIEST, DOCTOR, NURSE ONE RESULT OF THIS. One immediate result was that the whole world rushed in, as if this was an open question for a public forum. The vulgar abuse and ridicule that were heaped on the Pope showed two things: that passion had taken over from reason; and that some other spirit was at work, and not the Spirit of God. Let us take a calm look at the authority and credentials of these objectors. AUTHORITY OF THE OBJECTORS. By the will of Christ, Our Lord, the only ones who are empowered to speak His message to the world are the successors of the apostles. The Apostolic College of Bishops, under the headship and authority of the Pope, are the only authorized teachers of religious truth in the world. This teaching Church values highly the work of scientists, doctors, philosophers, psychiatrists, psychologists and especially of her own theo logians and Scripture scholars. She listens attentively and very respectfully to what they say. She is grateful for the help they can give her in making the eternal message of Salvation more real and actual for modern man. But she cannot allow them to speak the last word; because the last and decive word transcends all their human knowledge; it belongs to the realm of the supernatural and the divine; it belongs to God’s Revelation, of which she alone is the custodian and official expounder. She cannot admit ajiy other authoritative teacher of religion but herself. God did not entrust His Revelation to any panel of human experts, however highly qualified. He gave it to twelve fishermen and their lawful successors, so that its power might not be from men but from God. (I Cor. 1:26-29). Did not the Master Himself make known this divine plan? “Father, thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.” (Lk. 10:21.) The faith ful do not always realize this. They think that priests and theologians who are quoted in the papers as contradicting the official teaching of the Church, must have some authority. The truth is they have ab solutely none. 286 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Human Reason and divine Wisdom are like two birds flying side by side in the sky; but at any moment, the second of them can soar aloft, so high that the other can scarcely see it, and certainly cannot follow. Those who attacked the reasoning of the encyclical, and thought in this way to undermine it, completely missed the point. Its truth and authority did not depend ultimately on the reasons assigned, but on the divine mandate given by Christ to His Church. Not that it contradicted reason; it merely rose above it. Man, fallen man, needs Revelation, even for his moral life. The savage knows that he should avoid evil and do good; but he thinks that it is good, and even a fulfillment of his personality, to rob or kill an enemy. But Revelation lifts him to heights that few, if any of the philosophers dared to propose. He must forgive and spare that enemy; he must love him and load him with favours. And who but the Spirit*of God, knows the holiness and perfec tion that He requires in that mysterious and almost mystical union of marriage, where man shares with his Maker that semi-creative power, which is so aptly called' pro-creation, and which mirrors the union of Christ with His Church? This is why all theologians of note ac cepted the encyclical promptly. I conclude with the words of a non-christian, the Indian columnist, Rajmohan Gandhi; they are like a fresh breeze in the stifling atmosphere of dissent: “In an age where blurs constitute art, where a straight line is viewed with suspicion, where black and white are always ugly, greys ever beautiful, where ambiguity is smart and precision square, Pope Paul has drawn a straight and precise line. Though intended for the guidance of Catholics, it will reward all who read it without prejudice.” May Mary Immaculate, Queen of the Philippines, protect her children and further their true prosperity. Fr. Patrick J. Talty, CSSR EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS IN ASIA AND THEIR SOLUTIONS Very Rev. Fr. S. Raymond Representative, Episcopal Conference of Pakistan The Role of Catholic Education in Asia Today In view of all that has been said so far it is now possible to consider the role of Catholic Education today in the Asian countries. In this connection it is important to note that since Catholic Educa tion in some of the Asian countries is inseparably linked with Chris tian Education, anything which is said about the role of Catholic Education today applies equally to Christian Education, and that there is therefore an added urgency for an ecumenical effort in these countries. Keeping in mind all that has been said concerning the historical origins of missionary educational activity, and the present set-up of Catholic education in these countries, no one can deny that this set-up is in need of reform in order to bring it more into conformity with national aspirations and national objectives. The question is what shape should this reform take? To answer this question let us turn to the Declaration on Christian Education of the Vatican Council where the aims of Christian Edu cation are stated: The Declaration states: “Since every man of whatever race, condition, and age is endowed with the dignity of a person, he has an inalienable right t'o an education corresponding to his proper destiny and suited to his native talents, his sex, his cultural background, and his ancestral heritage. At the same time his education should pave the way to brotherly association with other peoples, so that genuine peace and unity on earth may be promoted. For a true education aims at the formation of the human person with respect to his ultimate goal, and simultaneously with respect to the good of those societies of which, as a man, he is a member, and in whose responsibilities, as an adult, he will share.” The implications of this statement of Christian aims in education will have to be carefully kept in mind by this Conference when con sidering the reforms necessary in Christian education in the Asian countries today. BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS First of all it is important to note that some of the reforms in Christian Education in Asia today are necessary not only in order to make it conform with national aspirations; but also because they are demanded by the very statement of Christian aims in the declara tion. These are that education should correspond to the "Cultural Background” and the "Ancestral Heritage" of the person being educated, second that it "Should pave the way to brotherly associa tion” not only with other peoples, but with the peoples within each country as well; and, third, that it should aim at the formation of the human person “With respect to the good of the society of which, as a man, he is a member, and in whose responsibilities, as an adult, he will share." On the other hand, of course, it is also important to keep in mind that there are aims of education as contained in the Declaration which go beyond national aspirations, and could in. some cases even conflict with them. These are that Christian Education must corres pond to the “Proper Destiny” or "Ultimate Goal” of the human person; and second that Christian Education aims at promoting "Peace and unity on earth”. National aspirations, therefore, which lead to a denial of the right of Christian children to a Christian education, or which lead to a narrow and chauvinistic nationalism would be contrary to these aims and wquld therefore be unacceptable. This naturally raises the question whether Christian Schools and Christian Universities are necessary for a Christian Education. The Declaration on Education of the Vatican Council certainly appears to think so, although it admits the fact that the provision of such schools is not always possible due to the sheer lack of material resources. It is certain that this lack of material resources already is a serious problem for many dioceses in the Asian countries, and is gradually going to become more serious. Under these circumstances it is for the Bishops in conference to decide whether the need for Christian Education should be achieved by the opening of schools and Universities, or whether this Education could be achieved by other means. It must also be noted that we cannot expect to find from the Declaration on Christian Education all that needs to be said con cerning Catholic Schools in the Asian countries. Indeed, in the whole Declaration there is to be found only one short allusion to these types of schools. Thus it is necessary to consider other sources if we are to obtain further clarification on the role of the Catholic schools in the Asian region. In this connection we cannot do better, I believe, thpn turn to the Conclusions and Recommendations adopted by the Second Asian Regional Conference of C.I.E.O. (Catholic Inter national Education Office) in December 1965. The main theme of this Conference was the nature of the Catholic school in Asia, and its findings are eminently useful and practical for those entrusted with the administration and control of Schools in this area. The Conference gave the following definition of a Catholic School: THE 7 POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAMEC 289 “A Catholic School is a distinct educational institution, acknowl edged by the Church as a Catholic School, and having for its objectives service to the Church in her redeeming and sanctifying mission among men and nations.” The term “service to the Church” as contained in this definition can be achieved in many ways according to the prevailing conditions in different countries. For example in the Asian countries it can be achieved: — a. “by bringing as many as possible into living contact with Christianity and the Church, and thus preparing the way for later direct influence. b. by offering valuable services to the people and nations through exemplary educational and cultural work, thus gaining esteem for Christian values and the Church, dis persing prejudices, etc. c. by providing for the presence of the Church in the educa tional, cultural and social fields, etc.” Such a definition of the aims of the Catholic schools in the Asian countries is not only perfectly suited to the conditions prevailing in these countries at present, but is also quite in conformity with Vatican Council thinking on this issue. This is evident from the Decree on the Missionary Activities of the Church, where we read: Sometimes the situation is such that for the time being the message of the gospel cannot be proposed directly and immediately. In such circumstances the missionaries can and must, with patience, pru dence, and great confidence, at least bear testimony to Christ through their charity and benevolence, and thus prepare the way for the Lord and render Him somehow present.” Recommendations A set of recommendations based on the findings of this paper would appear to be a necessary conclusion. These recommenda tions are designed to concretize the conclusions arrived at on the different sub-topics deait with here. These have so far been expressed in the form of generalizations the implications which have not been sufficiently spelled out. Concrete recommendations are there fore offered as a basis for the discussions which are to follow. Special reference will be made under each heading to show whether these recommendations accord with, do not accord with or go beyond the recommendations of the Asian Regional Conferences of the In ternational Office of Catholic Education. As it would be presumptuous on the part of the writer to present these recommendations in the form of resolutions, such a format has been expressly avoided. 290 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS 1. The State and Education a. Educational Planning: As has been seen the most important aspect of education in the Asian Region today is the aspect of Educational Planning at the National level. It is the most prominent factor contributing to the progress in education made by any country. Under these circum stances it is obvious that Catholic Education, if it is to continue playing a role in these countries, cannot allow itself to muddle along as it has done in the past. The need for planning at a National rather than a Diocesan level is obvious, and should be im plemented immediately. Such National Planning however, would be pointless in certain of the Asian countries if it was carried out independently of the other Christian denominations operating within the country. The majority religions of the different countries are unable to appre ciate the subtle differences which exist between the different Chris tian sects, and almost invariably consider Christians as belonging to one denomination. National Planning by one sect, therefore, would probably prove completely ineffective, if such planning were not accepted by the other sects. National Christian Councils or Boards would therefore under such circumstances appear to be an urgent need, and efforts should be made to constitute such Councils. Clearly the methods for select ing members and the fixing of the powers of these bodies are essential elements for their effective operation, and these elements should therefore receive very careful consideration. It must be noted that this is a recommendation which goes beyond a similar recom mendation of the Fourht Asian Conference. The recommendation reads as follows. "In order to assist Catholic Schools in various Asian countries to relate their educational effort, national planning commissions of Catholic Education be organized to set up a programme of develop ment for Catholic Education..” The recommendation of this paper widens the word "Catholic" to that of "Christian” for reasons already stated. b. Primary Education: Recommendations concerning Primary Education must be based (i) on the most serious problem confronting Primary Education in the Asian countries i.e. the drop-outs, and (ii) on the main accusa tion levelled against Catholic Schools at this stage, namely that they cater for an ‘elite’. While it is true that Catholic Primary Education should be noted for its ‘excellence’, it is important that this term should be rightly understood. First of all the concept of excellence is relative and not absolute. It is related to the standards and requirements in THE 7 POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAMEC 291 the different countries, and Catholic Education must keep this fact in mind if it is not to become an ‘elite’ education. In the second place the concept of ‘excellence’ cannot and should not be limited to academic standards. On the contrary its primary objective should be moral and human formation. Catholic Schools in the Asian coun tries should be administered with these objectives in view, then only will they be accepted as an aid rather than an obstacle to the attainment of National aspirations. Such objectives would obviously also influence the percentage of drop-outs, and this as we have seen is the central problem of Primary Education in the Asian countries. This naturally also brings up the question of Catholic Primary Schools in the rural areas. Statis tical facts and figures have established that drop-outs in the rural areas considerably exceed the drop-outs in the urban areas. One of the main reasons for this is that the present curriculum of the Pri mary Schools is not sufficiently adapted to rural needs. Here then is a vital area where Catholic primary schools in the rural areas can give a lead. The obvious aim is to produce a curriculum that is not merely useful for. life in rural areas, but that is also seen to be useful, so that the incentives for dropping out are thereby weakened. There is no doubt that the need for such a curriculum is a national need in most of the Asian countries, and that it appears again and again in the aims and objectives of the National Plans of these coun tries. Any assistance, therefore, rendered by Catholic Education to wards the attainment of this objective cannot but be extremely wel come to the National Planners of the Asian countries. These recom mendations are almost identical with those contained in the Fourth Asian Regional Conference. c. Secondary Education: Recommendations concerning Catholic Secondary Education in the Asian countries must center on the shift from a general to a tcchnical/vocational education as thjs is the main objective of Secondary Education in the developing countries. Such a shift will doubtless present serious problems Problems of buildings, of equipment, of maintenance and of staffing . It will also involve a curtailment in the number of institutions which can be run at this level. All these problems will have to be faced if Catholic Secondary Education in the Asian countries is not to appear as an obstacle to national needs and aspirations. The possibility has also to be faced that in some countries Catho lic Schools at this level will not be able to make the switch over to technical education, or to a comprehensive school set-up, for financial reasons. In such countries it would not be right to insist that Catho lic children attend Catholic schools where only a general education can be imparted. In such cases it would certainly be preferable to 292 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS devise other means for the religious education of such children. This possibility has not been dealt with by the Third or Fourth Asian Regional Conferences, and thus no recommendations on this point have been presented by these conferences. It is however, a very real possibility, and was recognized as such by the Second Asian Regional Conference where we can read the following statement: ‘‘We think that it should be made clear that the most important channels of Christian Education will vary with the varying circumstances of the countries in Asia. In most countries these will be the Catholic schools, in other countries other instruments will have to be used perhaps exclusively.” d. University Education: Catholic Education at this level as has already been pointed out consists either in the running of Catholic Universities or in the run ning of Colleges affiliated to State Universities. The same problem confronts both types. Present trends in Higher Education clearly indicate that the charging of fees from the students coupled with private philanthropy arequite inadequate to meet the financial require ments of good education at this level especially in the fields of Science Engineering, Medicine, etc. The alternative facing us is therefore the continuation of institutions which are of second rate quality, or of institutions which are limited in their scope to those subjects for which the maintenance costs are less. These are subjects in the Department of the Arts a Department which already in many coun tries is producing more graduates than the developing economies can gainfully employ. Under such circumstances further expansion along this line cannot be recommended, and other means such as the open ing of youth hostels and the appointment of full-time University chaplains will have to be used to retain contact with students at this level. The only recommendation concerning Catholic Education at this level in the Asian Regional Conferences occurs in the Third Conference where the setting up of an Asian Institute of Higher Christian Education is recommended to serve various purposes among which is the purpose to provide opportunities for higher studies to such Asian Catholic students as are handicapped for want of these opportunties in their own countries. As the aims and objectives of this Institution however appear to be directed specifically towards the problems of the social and cultural adaptations required in the church to conform with national needs and aspirations this recom mendation is not really pertinent to the point discussed in this paper. 2. Regional Collaboration Catholic Institutions of Education at different levels in many Asian countries are receiving financial assistance and other forms of aid on a private or a semi-private basis from Charitable Organizations or Foundations in Europe and the United States of America. There is no doubt that in many countries such aid is regarded with suspicion THE 7 POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAMEC 293 and that the impression created is that the loyalty of those working under such conditions is divided between the country for which they are working and the country from which they are receiving aid. On the other hand it is also true that Catholic Educational Insti tutions along with other Private Educational Institutions are not receiving the aid which they should be receiving from the State for the support and maintenance of their institutions and under such circusmtances feel that they are fully justified in accepting this assistance from abroad. The situation thus created is a delicate one and either line of action is not exempt from criticism. It has already been recommended however that foreign aid on a communal or individual basis should be refused and this recommendation is repeated. It has been made in order to protect the image of the Church in these countries. In view of the tremendous upsurge of national feeling in all the coun tries of the Asian region it is vitally important that the Church should safeguard herself from the image of being a foreign religion that is trying by any means in its power to take root in an alien soil. This is a recommendation which may appear to run counter to the recommendation made by the Second Asian Regional Conference where the acceptance of aid from such agencies is not only approved, but where the Asian Regional Secretariat is also requested to assist individual schools on groups of schools in properly presenting pro jects for consideration. 3. Student Activism and Student Unrest: It has been noticed that Catholic institutions at the Higher level have to contend with fewer problems concerning student activism and student unrest. The main reason for this is that the higher esteem which these institutions have won for themselves either because of their earlier entry into the field, or because of the greater efficiency of their administration, allows them to be more selective at the time of enrollment, and thus acquire the more traditional type of student. It is therefore to be recommended that this fact is not lost sight of in confronting these problems. Catholic Institutions at this level should not permit themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security, because of the specially favorable conditions under which they have to operate, but should rather use these advantages to the full in helping to find the solution that is being so urgently sought. This is a recommendation that is in complete accord with the recommendation of the Fourth Asian Regional Conference on this point. In it we read as follows: “In view of the growing unrest among the students and their demands for a greater voice in the society of which they are members, Catholic Educators should make every possible effort to understand the deeper reasons for the unrest of the young, to identify themselves with the justified aspirations of their students, and to channel the rising energies towards the build ing of a better society.” 294 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS 4. Academic Freedom: It has already been recommended that a complete unselfishness and a sincere and genuine concern for national needs appear in the exercise of their academic freedom by the Catholic Educational Insti tutions. This recommendation must cover also those countries where Catholic Institutions are teaching through a foreign medium. A com plete open-mindedness on this question by Catholic Institutions is vital for creating the right image of the Church in the Asian countries. This recommendation does no more than to re-iterate on a more comprehensive basis, the recommendation already contained in the Fourth Asian Regional Conference where we read: “The Catholic School should support the national language even before, for Nationalistic purposes, it is imposed as the official language of instruction.” Republic of the Philippines BUREAU OF POSTS M a n I I n SWdkN STATEMENT (Required by Act 2580) The undersigned. REV. FR. FLORENCIO TESTERA. O.P., business manager of BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS. published monthly except MayJune, in Englisn, Spanish, and Latin nt University of Santo Tomas. Maniln. alter having been duly sworn in accordance with law. hereby submits the follow ing statement of ownership, management, circulation, etc., which is required by Act 2580, as amended by Commonwealth Act No. 201. Name Address Editor: FR. JAIME BOQUIREN, O.P................................. U.S.T., Manila Managing Editor: FR. JOHN D’AQUINO. O.P................ — do — Business Manager: FR. FLORENCIO TESTERA. O.P....... — do — Owner: UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS ................... — do — Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS ................ — do — Printer: NOVEL PUBLISHING CO.. INC....................... P. Novnl cor. Espana Office of Publicntion: UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS U.S.T., Manila In case of publication other than daily, total number of copies printed and circulated of the hist issue dated April 19'1. 1. Sent to paid subscribers ............................................................ 1,800 2. Sent to others than paid subscribers .......................................... 200 T o t a I ................................. 2.000 (Sgd.) REV. FR. FLORENCIO TESTERA, O.P. SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 20lh day of April. 1971 nt Manila, the affinnt exhibiting his Residence Certificate No. A-2-17028 isBucd at Manila on January 8. 1971. (Sgd.) LUIS C. BASSIG Notary Public Doc. No. 182: Page No. 62 until December 31. 1971 Book No. XIV: Series 1971 NOTE: This form is exempt from the payment of documentary stamp tax. CHRISTIANITY AND ASIAN CULTURES His Eminence Valerian Cardinal Gracias President, Episcopal Conference of India Christianity and Culture “Christianity is not a culture and no culture is what Christianity is — a supernatural religion.’’ A culture is by definition the ennoble ment of human life by human ingenuity. Christianity is by definition the ennoblement of human life by Divine generosity. More precisely still, a culture is the humanization of man by man; Christianity is the divinization of man by God. Christianity and culture have thus different aims and work at different levels so that there is no intrinsic reason why they should ever meet in conflict. Were it not that God can dispense with the work of man and divinize the soul that culture has humanized, one might even say that Christianity’s task exactly begins where the task of culture ends, just — and for the same reason — as the task of the gardener who engrafts the rose-tree scion upon the hawthorn begins where ended the task of the gardener whose only concern was to develop the hawthorn according to its kind. Christianity’s concern ranges above and beyond that of culture. Or, to use still another simile, there is no more reason why Christianity should come in conflict with any culture than why the railroad that takes you from the station to the town should cut through the paths that take you from your home to the station. Christianity and cultures are complementary. There is no reason why they should interfere with or hamper each other. (“Catholicism and National Cultures” by G. Dandoy, S.J.). XXX Christian Influence Christian influence also played a more direct part in the rise and development of national movements. These were generally the work of the new educated classes, trained to a large extent in Chris tian institutions, which thus had an important effect on national life and culture in Asia. Often, this influence engendered a veritable 296 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS social revolution in establishing the legal system in which every citizen is equal before the law, in promoting measures of public health and welfare, in fostering the renovation of literature and the development of new literary forms. In country after country and among people after people the Church pioneered the introduction of aspects of western civilization which were of great use to non Europeans. Her achievements have certainly been remarkable. Besides pineer work in the fields of education and public health, her representatives did much to promote agriculture and industry, launch ing trade schools, showing how food policy could be improved by new techniques and food-plants, stirring the local people from their helplessness and apathy. The Committee of Inquiry of Christian Missionary Activities in the State of Madhya Pradesh in India, in its notorious report pub lished over a decade ago and betraying great animosity against Christianity, manages nevertheless to sum up neatly the achieve ment on the social level of the missions in India: “The contribu tion of Christian missionaries to the shaping of Indian life in modern times has indeed been very impressive. They established schools and colleges, hospitals and dispensaries, orphanages and institutions for the maimed and handicapped. They elevated the neglected classes to high school positions and made them worthy of their dignity as men, and inspired them with self-respect. They stimulated many religious and social reforms in the Hindu society and made it selfconscious. They have helped.in the elevation of the status of women by giving the lead in female education. The community centres and industrial schools opened by them are, like their other institutions, the best of their kind.” And Pandit Sivanath Sastri, the erudite Brahmin historian of the Brahmo Samaj, says: “Spiritual Hinduism teaches men to look upon society as a bondage and a snare. A contrast to this teaching is furnished by the fundamental note of Christianity which seeks to establish the Kingdom of God upon earth. As the message of Hinduism is essentially anti-social, the message of Christianity is essentially social” (History of Brahmo Samaj, I). Not long ago, Mr. J. P. Naik, former Secretary of the (Kothari) Indian Education Commission, declared: “The idea that Hinduism got from Christianity was that the way to God lies through the service of man. I think this is a new concept to Hinduism. We have our ways of Dhyana. Karma and Bhakti, but the emphasis on seva, the service of a man as a method came through our contact with Christianity.” Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Indian Nation, whose Birth Centenary the whole world celebrated with particular homage recently, made no secret of the fact that he owed his doctrine of Non-Violence to the influence of Christianity. XXX The Role of the Church Having said this, we must consider how the Church or Chris tianity is to adaDt itself to the cultures of Asia. Obviously, it is not possible to discuss the individual cultures of this vast continent. We can only repeat the principles that have always guided the THE 7 POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAMEC 297 Church’s activity in this sphere even though, for some time, his torical circumstances obscured the incarnational role of the Church. “Not merely in order to win the individual human being for Christ, but also and above all in order really to manifest the mystery of Christ by its very presence in a culturally non-Christian domain, the Church must allow itself to become part of ‘definite social and cultural conditions’ and so continue, carry out and develop Christ’s mission.’’ (Comm, on Documents of Vat. II, Vol. 4, p. 126). XXX Adaptation The basis of this adaptation was laid down by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians: “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever honourable, whatsoever just, whatsoever hoiy, whatsoever beautiful, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, any praise, think on these things.’’ Father Dandoy, the great indologist, calls this passage the Magna Charta for all non-Christian religions and cultures. Two important points, he tells us, stand out in this charter: the recognition of the theoretical and the practical truths that are to be found outside Christianity, and the respect for the Gentile insti tutions and social customs, except those clearly contrary to God’s will. Right from the earliest days of Christianity this principle was never forgotten. “The use of temples and these dedicated to parti cular saints, and ornamented on occasion with branches of trees; incense, lamps, candles, votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; holidays and seasons, use of calendar, processions, bless ing on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning towards the east (to pray), images at an early date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant and the Kyrie eleison, are all of pagan origin and sanctified by their adoption into a Church which has confidence in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon worship to an evangelical use.” (Cardinal Newman, Develop ment of Christian Doctrine). However, in this connection, it is use ful to take note of what a modern writer wrote recently in regard to India: — “It was fashionable at the turn of the century to say that the Christian sacramental system. owed more to the Mystery Religions of the first century of the Christian era than to the Church of Jerusalem, but this thesis has long since been put aside as a piece of shallow scholarship. Today liturgical studies show that the early church took the substance of her liturgy from Jerusalem and very little from the pagan religions.” It is suggested by some that Hindu festivals, for example, no longer possess any religious significance, but are merely cultural or national celebrations, in which Christians could participate whole heartedly. This is a fatuous argument, and, if anyone needs to be convinced, let him read Father de Smet’s article in Religious Hin duism, p. 133. And the well-known Indian writer, Nirad Choudury, gives a warning to Christians in India against false erenicism. In his view, the strength of Hinduism is in these festivals and other external customs, and Christians will not benefit from such contact with the religion of the majority (The Continent of Circe, p. 337). 298 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS It must be admitted too that when the Europeans first came to Asia, they tended to forget the distinction between the Church and western culture. At times, the missionaries laboured under an igno rance of local religions that led to violent denunciations of native practices. There was a tendency to assume that not only the mes sage of the Gospel, but the practical forms Christianity had taken in the West, should be reproduced in the non-Christian world. But even in the early days there was a reaction and a resolute attempt to separate Catholicism from its accidental western trappings and to assimilate the best elements of indigenous cultures. The names of two wise men from the West, Matteo Ricci in China and De Nobili in India, come to mind in this respect. A Note of Caution Here, however, I must sound a note of caution. It is true that the mission of the Church is essentially universal and it is common to all nations and races — to those of the East equally with those of the West. But we must distinguish between this ideal universality and the practical limitations imposed by circumstances of the Church’s apostoiate. By the nature of the case, the missionary is in some sense a stranger to the nation and the culture that he evangelises. He comes from outside bringing a new doctrine and initiating men into a new society. But however supernatural his mission, he is a human being who has been born and educated in some particular society and brings his own cultural traditions with him, and hence, in some degree, his native habits and prejudices. In this sense it is true that the missionary tends to be too Western and it is his duty therefore to divest himself of his natural perjudices and become assimilated to an alien environment and culture. As he must trans late the Christian Gospel into a new language and speak with strange tongues, so too he must learn to think in terms of an alien culture and accept its social standards and values. However, this is not the real point at issue. For when men talk, as they often do today, about the Church’s being too Western, they are not thinking of this inevitable but accidental dependence of the missionary on his parti cular background; they mean rather that the Church herself has become occidentalised; that her philosophy and theology, her liturgy and devotion have been so deeply influenced by 1,500 years of asso ciation with Western culture that she has become estranged from the oriental world and no longer speaks to it in terms that the people of Asia can understand. The Christianization of Culture The Church, Father Arrupe has said, cannot save men except by saving them in and with the living milieu that their culture forms about them. That is why the Christianization of a culture is important, for the generality of men is not capable of remaining true to a faith in surroundings that are penetrated by an indifferent or hostile spirit. This she is able to do because Christianity is not a culture, and no culture is what Christianity is. a supernatural THE 7 POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAMEC 299 religion. Culture has been defined, as I have said before, as the humanization of men by man; Christianization is the divinization of man by God. The two are distinct, yet they are connected. The problem presented by cultural development is that of a fresh integ ration of the reality that is man. Only Christ can, at all levels, communicate divine life to man as He integrates man and the world. He alone can impart consistency to all that is man. And incidentally, since culture and Christianity are distinct and work at different levels, there is not intrinsic reason why the two should come into conflict. The Church, as a divine society possseses an internal prin ciple of life which is capable of assimilating the most diverse mate rials and imprinting her own image upon them. The cultural apostolate of the Church will be the more effective the more she identifies herself with the various cultures through a prudent process of adap tation, ‘ in order that the Church may effect authentic and cordial religious contacts, an easily grasped presentation of the Christian message, a Christian life which is really lived because it is typically incarnated in the psychological and cultural values of the commu nity — all this, while at the same time taking account of the rapid technological process of the modern world” (Cardinal Agagianian). And it may be good to add here that the Church must not be overly concerned with the past or the future. “In doing so,” says Joseph Neuner, “the Church would remain strange to the people of God today. We must meet the people of today, in the very state of transi tion in which both the past and future are present... This is ulti mately the transcultural character of the Church, that in living the Paschal 'mystery, the Church lives concretely a life of present in volvement, and always transcends it and always is open to the world, to the vocation and to the task which God has entrusted.” Brief Indications Mine is not a dissertation for a Doctorate. But if one has to go into this matter deeply, some indications, even superficially, would be needed on the various avenues of approach to the problem. 1. The first task for the Church in Asia is to help, if possible, the local religions to deal with their own crises, which lie in this that they cannot cope with the exigencies of the modern world — with its complicated machinery, complicated political ideologies and structures, business and culture. The crisis is not just external or sociological; it exists on an anthropological level as well, in the deepest structures of the asiatic soul. Time, matter and individual are radically different for the Asian than for western man. 2. In our efforts to establish an Indian or Japanese or Ceylonese theology care would have to be taken not to lose touch with modern needs and get lost in antiquarianism for its own sake: the effort should always be to achieve relevance, a living contact with cultural sources which can still enrich our people, not a search for broken bits of the past fit only for museums. The eastern cultures are in a state of trans formation under the influence of the technological revolu tion which is sweeping over the world and fascinates the 300 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS young generation. No doubt the traditional religions will continue to exist and their philosophical systems will be admired: there are also the powerful movements of rejuve nation of the old religions — Neo-Hinduism, Neo-Buddhism, etc. — but it seems that the really appealing forces of this rennaissance do not consist in the elements of classical think ing, but in the new orientations which have been adopted from modern trends of thought — from Idealism, Positivism and theories of Evolution. The old philosophical systems seem to have retired into the libraries. Therefore, a theo logy too closely connected with them would belong to an era of the past. Still, the need of an indigenous theology is genuine, as each country has its specific contribution to make to the thinking of the Universal Church, and the local Churches have to answer to the concrete needs of the societies in which they are established. It would seem that in the general trends of presenting theology to date new possibilities are contained to make theology itself more indigenous. The trends suggested are: the shift from the strictly systematic teaching method to a more genetic and historical presenta tion of doctrine; the personalistic and existential which today supplements the doctrinal approach. Great stress must be laid on the involvement of man, through faith, in the concrete world and the society in which he lives — and this is a distinctively Christian, dimension. Wise account would have to be taken of different situations in different countries and different parts of the same country or sub-continent: some more cosmopolitan, some more traditional. Therefore, no uniform blueprint, and no uniform patterns. 3. Also the Church would seem to have a very special role in the developing of national consciousness of Asian Nations — namely to help them to avoid a too narrowly exclusive nationalism, which could stifle their own cultural develop ment even in the name of its preservation. She is in a unique position, in virtue of her supra and inter-national character, to preserve and encourage the exchange of cultural ideas and cross fertilization of currents already referred to. The Asian Catholic And what is the goal we are seeking, we the Catholics of Asia? Advisedly I have chosen a Filipino authority to express our feelings and aspirations, not so much because we are the grateful recipients of their generosity as because they are the largest Catholic country in Asia. For better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sick ness and health, I should like to think that we stand to gain by our association with them. A block of 23 million Catholics; while the next, India, has only 7 millions. I recall the words of the Holy Father to your new Ambassador when he presented his credentials at Castelgondolfo on 29th August 1970 — “At this time we cannot help but note the special vocation that belongs to your country — to give a collective Christian witness in the great and ancient East.” This, it seems to me, has been well expressed by Father de la Costa, THE 7 POSITION PAPERS IN THE PAMEC 301 S.J., in regard to the Catholics of the Philippines: “The Catholic faith is for all men; but precisely because it is for all men, each man is called upon to make it a part of himself, of his way of life, of his total personality; and if this is true of individuals, it is not less true of nations. Our Catholicism, then, should be so much a part of our personal lives, and hence of our national life, that there should be a distinctive Filipino manner of style of being a Catholic — a manner of style of being a Catholic, in full communion with the universal Church, yet truly Filipino also, adapted to our needs, our attitudes, our patterns of thought and action our economy and society, our traditions and ideals, all that we mean or imply when we say ‘I am a Filipino.’ But is this indeed thecase?Our is there something, after all, in the suggestion that even after all these centuries Catholicism remains for us, to some extent at least, a foreign religion; some thing that we learn in the childhood or in school abstractly, as a doctrine or academic exercise but does not really become a part of ourselves; something to which (to use Newman’s terms) we give a notional not a real assent?” I was often teased during the Vatican Council for quoting New man frequently. But I see I am in good and respectable company! Hence, I continue to quote Newman freely and frequently. I am comforted by the saying — “Timeo virum unius libri!” I should like to end with a saying of Nehru: “Change is essential but continuity is necessary” — applicable as well to the sphere of the Church as to that of Politics. That we need change or that change is inevitable seems incontrovertible. Unfortunately to many people religion is synonymous with the Great Conservative force in Society. Marxist criticism of Christianity judges it to be a great obstacle to human progress. Yet, as Cardinal Newman pointed out in his “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,’’ the Church is ever “germi nating,” “progressive,” “rich in sudden and wonderful changes,” and “in consolidations and adaptations.” In a much quoted judgment Newman further states that “in a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often”; or as a modern French writer has put it paradoxically, “the oniy stable element of Christianity is never to stop.” And so never resting on our laurels we proceed — citius, fortius audacius; and yet to save us from our follies and the wreckage of our lives our Guardian Angels will whisper into our ears from time to time — Festina Lente. Or as Nehru often to.ld his people, dwelling on the need for continuity — “the future has to be built on the founda tions laid in the past and the present. To deny the past and break with it completely is to uproot ourselves, and sapless, dry up.” For Life is like a Relay Race in which one runner hands on the torch to another, so that the race neither slows down nor pauses. Progress without Tradition would be a risky enterprise, a leap in the dark. The Church has certainly a vision of the future — of hope — "Gaudium et Spes” is the Magna Charta of Hope. But it is fully conscious of the fact that it is a Pilgrim Church — always lingering and ailing and a-building — awaiting the day when she will appear without spot or wrinkle — at the end of her Great Pilgrimage. Sunday Obligation After a sermon on the Sunday obligation a parishioner approached me with this question: “It seems that the Sabbath Law of Moses was for agricultural countries like the Holy Land, and not for industrial countries like the U.S.A, and the Philippines. Does not the Church have an interpretation of the Sunday Law for industrialized places where work has to go on even on Sundays”? What do you say to this? A Parish Priest. Answer I — The Sabbath Law 1. —The first enactment of the Sabbath Law we find in the Book of Exodus (20:8-11): “Remember thou keep holy the sabbath day. Six days shalt thou labor, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” 2. — The ten commandments, given by God to Moses on mount Sinai, express the natural law of morality for the whole of mankind. Because, in our case, natural reason dictates that man must adore and worship ACTION LINE 303 God some times during his life, acknowledging Him as the supreme Being and Lord of all; natural reason likewise shows that it is neces sary for our health of mind and body to rest from work and to relax now and then, disengaging ourselves from the engrossing solicitudes of money-making activities. The ten commondments therefore bind Catholics as well as other Christians and Pagans, and apply equally to agricultural and industrial countries. 3. — But in the text from Exodus one can easily distinguish two different aspects: a) the obligation to consecrate one day of the week to a special workship of God, and b) the obligation to abstain from work, which helps the observance of the law of worship. This is the unchangeable substance of the third commandment; the rest of the dispositions in the text fall under what is called Old Ceremonial Law, namely, the deter mination of the seventh day, and the prohibition of servile work, with all the details mentioned in the text. And we are familiar with the meticuluousness with which the Scribes and Pharisees implemented the observance of the Sabbath, so as to make it almost unbearable for the common folk. And we know also how Our Lord denounced them with the most stringent diatribes. 4. — Under the Old Law the chosen people met every Sabbath — except perhaps during the periods of captivity — in the Temple and in the Synagogues, to hear the Word of God and to sing the divine praises: a fitting way to sanctify the Lord’s day. Christ and the Apostles faith fully observed the whole Law of Moses, and recommended it (Matt. 5:19; Rom. 13:18), and Christ died without promulgating a new sab batical law. But we know that the old ceremonial law ceased to be effective under the New Testament economy. St. Paul is emphatic: “Let no one, then, call you to account for what you eat or drink or in regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” (Col. 2:16-17). II — The Sunday Law 5. — In fact, the early Church changed the seventh for the first day of the week — Saturday for Sunday — in memory of the resurrection of Our 304 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Lord: the Lord’s day, and this through custom rather than by a written law. As for the obligation to abstain from servile work, it seems that it was forgone by the early Church, because we do not find its universal observance until the end of the fourth centry; maybe because the first Christians were poor and were persecuted, and had to work hard during the whole week to earn a living. And we know how keen the early Christians were in meeting every Sunday for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, breaking the Bread and hearing the Word. 6. — Week-day holydays. For many centuries, local Bishops were ack nowledged the right to proclaim special holydays for their territories, many of which were by and by included in the calendar of the universal Church. It was Urban VIII, in 1642, who curtailed the Bishops’ faculties and reduced the number of such holydays to about 36, besides Sundays. In 1911, St. Pius X promulgated a new list of week-day festivities, which was received into the Code of Canon Law, in canon 1247. In 1968, the Holy See further cut down their number to three: Christmas, New Year’s and the Immaculate Conception. 7. — Therefore: “Holydays of obligation for the universal Church are only the following: all the Sundays..and the three days above (can. 1247). “On holydays of obligation Holy Mass must be heard and the people must abstain from servile work and from court actions; and, unless legitimate custom or special indults make an except ion, public sales, fairs and other public buying and selling are forbidden.” (Can. 1248). 8. — At no time in the history of the Church do we find any discrimi nation between agricultural and industrial countries, as far as the double obligation of the Sunday Law is concerned. Ill — The interpretation by the Church 9. — The Church, however, and moral theologians have been interpreting the Sunday Law in various ways. Some of these interpellations — in ACTION LINE 305 the form of casuistry — obtain special force in agricultural, some in industrial countries. There are certain principles of interpreta tion: (1) The law of charity and the law of justice take precedence over the law of worship. Because charity is the queen of virtues and justice ranks second among the cardinal virtues, while the virtue of religion — from which the obligation of worship springs — is only a potential part of justice. Therefore, whenever the exigencies of charity or justice come in real conflict with either one of the obligations of the Sunday Law, we should opt for the former at the expense of the latter. This principle has a wide range of application in man’s life. For ins tance, if charity begins at home, there is no reason why we should abstain from work on a Sunday when we may incur a considerable material loss. (I am thinking of poor families in particular, for whom the loss of one day’s salary or work means a great loss). Another instance: the employees of a large industrial concern are under a labor contract, and they must in justice abide by the laws of the contract; therefore, if the needs of the industry require to keep the engines going uninterruptedly, the employees should report for work even on Sundays. Something similar must be said of the large number of employees in the public utility services: they are under a contract. Etc. etc. 10. — (2) Another principle of interpretation is the law of parvity of matter — we arc allowed to work for two hours on Sunday — and the known adage, admitted in moral theology, that “ the laws of the Church do not oblige with great discomfort.” However, we must say that the practical application of this principle is fraught with danger. 11. — Of the double obligation of the Sunday law, we can say that the Church is more willing to dispense with the law of rest than with law of Mass. Maybe it is for this reason that the Church is offering more facilities for people to hear Mass now than in the past: for instance, while formerly it was permitted to say Mass only on Sunday morning, today we have the evening Masses, and most priests can say two ot three Masses on holydays, and in addition there is the Saturday evening Mass when we can fulfill the Sunday obligation. Hence there is no thing strange if in many countries there exists the legitimate custom for people to work during the whole Sunday during harvest time: as 306 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS long as they hear Mass. At any rate, the local Bishops can dispense, in particular cases, a single individual or family or a whole parish within their territory, upon request; and a parish priest can do the same for particular persons and families within his parish. 13. — In passing, I wish to invite the attention of the Rev. Consultant to the fact that: it is precisely in the most advanced industrial coun tries — the Philippines included — where we have, not one but two days of rest in the week; and I am of the opinion that within a foreseable future we will have the four-day-week of work in effect: three days of rest from servile work. 14. — Conclusion. Though the Church wishes that the Sunday law be observed equally in agricultral and industrial countries, in her interpre tation of the law she has set principles and taken decisions wherefrom one can easily choose different solutions for different situations. Fr. Jose Ortea, O.P. “Rather she (the Church) respects and fosters the spiritual adornments and Rifts of the various races and people:;. Anything in their way of life that is not indissolubly bound up with superstition and error she studies with sympathy and, if possible, preserves intact. Sometimes in fact she admits such things into the liturgy itself, as long as they harmonize with its true and authentic spirit.’’ (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 57) Bishops or Theologians? “I read about some theology scholars criticizing the Pope and the Bishops about their teachings on certain doctrinal and moral problems. .... “I also read that the Pope and Bishops are criticizing these theology scholars for their views and pronouncements. “This is creating confusion among the people of God. They do not know whom to follow. “Now, who definitely is the Teacher in the Church, the Pope and' Bishops, or the theology scholars?” A Parish Priest Answer I shall take up first the doctrinal query — “Who definitely is the Teacher in the Church, the Pope and Bishops or the theology scholars?” Both Vatican I (sess. 4, cap. 4: DB. 1832) and Vatican II (LG. ch. Ill, ns. 18-29; VD. n. 7-10; Ch. D.,' n. 2) are definite and clear on this all important matter. It is not the scope of this note to trans cribe all the documents pertinent to our question. According to Catholic doctrine, Holy Scripture as seen in the lighlt of Tradition is only the remote rule of faith, while the proximate rule is the living Magisterium of the Church which resides in the Roman Pontiff and in the Bishops in-as-much as they are subject to and united with him. The function of theology is not the function of the Magisterium; yet theology maintains a two-fold intimate rapport with the Church’s Magisterium. Pope Paul VI in his address to theologians attending the “First International Congress on the Theology of Vatican II”, BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS held in Rome, Sept.-October, 1966, sets forth the twofold function of theology and its relation to the Word of God and the Magisterium. It is worth reading and reflecting, and readers of Boletin can do so, by turning to pp. 759-766, December issue, 1966. I see no other way of shedding light on this problem except by going straight to the sources. Admittedly, some theologians carried out on the wings of popularity, and of an exaggerated confidence in themselves — typical mentality of the cultured men of our day — take an attitude of “I know better than Thou”, and assume the role of the Magisterium, rather they usurp it, and that marks, in many instances, the creation of much confusion. In our age characterized “by an insipid mediocrity”, in Rahner’s words, many of us are prone to hero worshipping, and now and then, the “bright scholar” is enthroned as Pope — after all, Paul VI isn’t a theologian, was never a theologian of note! But, let us bear in mind that “Faith is more necessary to theology, than an acute mind”, said an expert theologian (A. Stolz). Faith to the revealing God; faith in the Church which preserves revelation intact, with the assistance of the Holv Spirit, faith in the Magisterium of the Church which explains and interprets it authoritatively as the representative and so to speak, the instrument of Christ, the “Teacher” (Paul VI, Address referred to above, Bol. Eccl., Dec. 1966). We are all aware of the inflated value which threatens this honor able title “theologian”. The Hungarian theologian Szabo gives this note of warning. “Theological authority cannot be claimed by every professor of theology, nor by everyone who writes on theological matters, but only by those who cultivate the sacred science according to the mind of holy Mother Church, in the sense of Tradition and men approved by the Church.” Our consultant observes “This is creating confusion among the people of God. They do not know whom to follow.” The leading member of “Evidence Guilds” for the last forty years, throughout the English speaking world, Frank J. Sheed ha sthis to say on what is going on within the Church. “That Catholics should raise questions, concerning even official teachings of the highest authority, is all to the good, but that is not, at the moment, the way they are doing it. They are not putting questions to the Pope, or even arguing ACTION LINE 309 with him, they are telling him, as men having authority. We have Catholics writing of Vat. II decisions, like professors marking examina tion papers with C plus the highest mark they can find it intellectually honest to give. (Indeed, after I wrote this, one Seminary professor, having left the Church, said that if a student of his had handed in Pope Paul VI enc. “Mysterium Fidei” he’d have failed him). I get the feeling that the Pope isn’t infallible, and the Council isn’t, but half the Catholics I meet, are.” Note F. J. Sheed speaks of English speaking countries, where Protestantism dominates. And Bishop Fulton J. Sheen tells us “that we have made millions of Popes to substitute for one Pope, and millions of immaculate conceptions to substitute for the Immaculate Conception.” The best abolition is a substitution. The best abolition of the Pope, of the Magisterium is a substitute, and his is “Pope-conscience”, or “follow your conscience”, whatever that means!... The result is anarchy in dogma, in morals, in the whole life of the Church, which disintegrates... “I read some theology scholars criticizing the Pope and Bishops about their teachings on certain doctrinal and moral problems.” Sad to say, it is true, even in our midst. Take for instance, the Enc. “Humanae Vitae” of Paul VI, of July 25, 1968. It is being practically ignored by supposed theologians, priests, seminarians, lay-cul tured people; by the elements of the “Catholic” press and “Catholic” schools. In general, “the authority of the Church” when exercised by the Pope over the Universal Church, and by the Bishops in their res pective dioceses, “is seen as a mere exterior power, and a hostile one at that; and when it is exercised it is looked upon as tyrannical”, states H. de Lubac (NRT., Juin-Juillet, 1968; “L’Eglise dans la crise actuelle”: p. 580-596). “Its Magisterium is only endured with impatience; its declarations are considered abusive, bitterly debated and at times rejested entirely. There are even those who do not hesitate to stir up public opinion against it. It would seem that some have lost even the slightest inkling of the very nature of and requirements for Christian freedom.” Often enough poison is a matter of quantity. Obviously we have “too much” criticism of others; unfortunately the most im portant criticism is wanting — viz “self-criticism”. As K. Rahner notes, 310 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS “the only criticism which rings true is that of the man who first criti cizes himself, — who realizes that even in concrete cases, the Church, if only from the human point of view — has an advantage over human subjectivity (which none can eliminate altogether) in her attitudes and convictions.” “I also read that the Pope and Bishops are criticizing these theo logy scholars for their views and pronouncements." I wish his were true in the case of all Bishops; at times one is temp ted to interpret “silence , either as tacit approval, or as “who cares”.. . May I end these remarks with the exhortation of Pope Paul VI of Dec. 8, 1970 to his brethren in the episcopate. “Having insisted,” says the Holy Father, “as is our duty, on teaching the doctrine of the faith, we must add, that what is often most needed, is not so much an abund ance of words, as speech in harmony with a more evangelical life. Yes, it is the witness of the saints that the world needs, for as the Council reminds us, God “speaks to us in them, and gives us a sign of his king dom, to which we are powerfully drawn” (LG., 50). The world, the Church desperately need theologians who are saints; priests, specially religious priests who are truly religious. True theologians must grow simultaneously in charity and in knowledge (2 Pet. 3:18), otherwise, their growth is rather apparent than real. Fr. F. del Rio, O.P. “In pastoral care, appropriate use must be made not only of theological principles, but also of the findings of the secular sciences, especially of psychology and sociology. Thus the faithful can be brought to live the faith in a more thorough and mature way.” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, no. 62) ACTION LINE 311 DECRETUM DE FACULTATIBUS ET GRATIS PRO AMERICA LATINA ET PRO INSULIS PHILIPPINE1 1 Aetn Apost. Solis. 28 Feb. 1970, pp. 120-12*. Romani Pontifices, quemadmodum de universali Ecclesiae prosperitate ita et de particularium Ecclesiarum utilitate apprime solliciti, diligenter consuluerunt, ut Sacrorum Antistibus aequiore ratione ea privilegiorum et facultatum summa agnosceretur, quibus pastoralia munia efficacius expeditiusque obire valerent. Hac sane ratione ductus, Leo XIII, fel. rec., iam anno 1897 Ordinariis locorum Americae Latinae, in utilitatem turn sacerdotum turn christifidelium. peculiaria privilegia et gratias consessit, quae, in Indicem redacta, eiusdem n Petri cathedra Succcssores ad Insulas quaque Philippinas extensa, usque ad antegrum annum 1969 benigne prorogarunt. Cum autem hoc anno exeunte, Ordinarii locorum quos supra commemoravimus postulaverint, ut. prioribus manentibus adiunctis, eadcm privilegia adhuc proroearentur, Summus Pontifex Paulus Divina Providentia Pp. VI, consultis Emis. Patribus Romanae Curiae Dicasteriis praepositis. pro rebus et causis ad unumquodque spectantibus, de consilio infrascripti Cardinalis Sacrae Congregationis pro Episcopis Praefecti, oblatis precibus annuendum censuit. Quandoquidem nonnulla privilegia in superiore Tndice contenta, ex Litteris Apostolicis “Pastorale Munus” atque “De Episcoporum Muneribus” Motu Proprio datis, universis dioecesanis Episcopis collata sunt, ut tamen cetcri etiam locorum Ordinarii charactere episcopali non pollentes iisdem fruantur, hie opportune referentur. Quapropter hoc Dccreto idem Summus Pontifex omnibus et singulis locorum Ordinariis, Sacerdotibus et Christifidelibus dioecesium et ditionum Americae Latinae et Insularum Philippinarum facultates et gratias quae infra edicuntur confirmat atque elargitur usque ad diem 31 mensis decembris anni 1979. 1. Ordinarii locorum, secluso Vicario Generali sine Episcopi speciali mandato, deputare . possunt, ad Sacramentum Confirmationis administrandum, sacerdotes, quantenus fieri potest in aliqua dignitate ecclesiastica constitutes, vel munere Vicarii foranei fungentes, numquam vero simplices sacerdotes commorantcs illis in locis in quibus praedictum Sacramentum administrandum erit; servata Sacrae Congregationis de disciplina Sacramentorum Instructione pro simplici sacerdote, ex Sedis Apostolicac delegatione, Sacramentum Confirmationis administrante (A.A.S., XXVII, 11 seq.). N.B. Declaratio: Vi huius concessionis, facultas administrandi Sacramentum Confirmationis competit etiam Vicariis Capitularibus et Administratoribus Apostolicis, licet charactere episcopali careant. 2. Iidem Ordinarii locorum ad assistendum nuptiis iuxta formam a iure statutam delegare possunt sacerdotes qui Missionum causa ad 312 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS evangelizandos fideles vel ad aliud exercitium pietatis implendum in longinquas regiones, a parochiali sede dissitas, pergunt, iisdem Missionibus perdurantibus, atque iis servatis, quae, prouti res ferat et loci ac temporis conditiones observare permittant, matrimonii celebrationi, ad normam canonis 1019 seq. Codicis Iuris Canonici. praemitti debent; facta tamen huius Apostolici Indulti expressa mentione in unoquoque casu et semper firmis sacrorum canonum praescriptionibus turn de iuribus parochi servandis turn de inscriptione in libris paroecialibus facienda. 3. Ordinarii locorum pariter dispensarc valent tantummodo super inatrimonialibus impedimentis, de quibus in Litteris Apostolicis “De Episcoporum Muneribus”, Motu Proprio datis die 30 iulii 1966, cum Litteris Apostolicis “Pastorale Munus” diei 30 novembris 1963 collatis; exceptis tamen mixtae reliRionis et cultus disparitatis impedimentis, nisi speciales facultates a Sacra Congregatione pro Doctrina Fidei obtenta fuerint. Insuper venia iisdem conceditur decernendi atque declarandi legitimam prolem nupturientium, dummodo ipsa in adulterio ne sit concepts; facta in unoquoque casu, etiam in conccdendis dispensationibus, huius Apostolici Indulti expressa mentione. 4. Conceditur pariter ut Sacra Olea etiam antiqua, non ultra duos annos, adhiberi possint, dummodo ne sint corrupts et nova vel recentiora Sacra Olea, peracta omni diligentia, haberi nequeant. 5. Ordinarii locorum perm'ittere possunt ut sacerdotes celebrent extra locum sacrum, tantum tamen in fidelium bonum et dummodo celebrationis locus sit decens atque honestus (Cfr. “Pastorale Munus” n. 7, et “Institutio generalis Missalis Romani’’, n. 260). 6. Ordinarii locorum concedere possunt sacerdotibus facultates celebrandi in navi sacrosanctum Missae Sacrificium, durante dumtaxat tem pore itineris, dummodo locus, in quo Missa litanda est, nihil indecens aut indecorum praeseferat, mare aut flumen sit adeo tranquillum, ut quodcumque e Calice effusionis Sacrorum Specierum periculum absit; atque sacerdos, superpelliceo indutus, si adsit, celebranti presbytero adsistat. 7. Omnibus autem Americae Latinae Christifidelibus permittitur ut a festo in Praesentatione Domini usque ad diem 16 mensis iulii, in Commemoratione B.V.M. de Monte Carmelo, praecepto annuae paschalis Communionis satisfacere possint. Contrariis quibusvis non obstantibus, etiam speciali mentione dignis. Datum Romae, ex Aedibus Sacrae Congregationis pro Episcopis, die 6 mensis decembris anno 1969. CAROLUS CARD. CONFALONIERI Praefect.ua L. S. + Ernestus Civardi, Archiep. tit. Serdicen a Secretis THE NEW DECENNIAL FACULTIES To begin with let us remind our readers that the Decennial Facul ties are an extension of the privileges granted by Leo XIII to Latin America for thirty years through the well known Apostolic Letters TRANS OCEANUM dated April 18, 1897 (A.A.S. II p. 272) and later on extended to the Philippine Islands by S. Pius X on January 1, 1910 “ita tamen ut quouscumque dicta privilegia pro America Latina perdurent, eodem tempore pro Insulis Philippinis vigeant, ut turn in America Latina turn in praefatis Insulis eadem sit privilegiorum duratio” (Ibid, p. 220). These privileges were in force up to April 18, 1927. The concession, however, was extended for two more years by the Sacred Consistorial Congregation on April 22, 1927 with some slight modifications (Cfr. Boletin Eclesiastico, vol. V, p. 646). On April 30, 1929, they were again granted for another ten years through the Breve Litteris Apostolicis (Cfr. Ibid. Id. vol. VII, p 615). This period having elapsed, the grant was successively renewed for another ten years, first through a Decree of the Sacred Consistorial Congrega tion dated April 28, 1939 (Cfr. Ibid. Id. 1939, p. 355), then on March 26, 1949 (Cfr. Ibid. 1949, p. 445), and August 8, 1959 (Cfr. Ibid. Id, 1960, pp. 137). Finally, the latest renewal of these faculties granted by the Sacred Congregation for Bishops took place on December 6, 1969 and was published in Acta Apos^olicae ' Sedis, 62, 1970, pp. 120-122. They were granted up to December 31, 1979. In the preface to the new grant it is explained that, though some privileges have been already granted to all Residential Bishops through the Apostolic Letters Pastorale Munus and the Mutu Proprio De Episcoporum Muneribus, they have still been listed here in order that other local Ordinaries deprived of episcopal character may also enjoy them, such as, for instance, those contained in faculties nos. 3 and 5. While the concession of 1959 contained twelve faculties, the new one contains only seven. The other five supressed in the recent con 314 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS cession are no longer necessary, since they have been already granted to the Residential Bishops in previous pontifical documents with the faculty to delegate them. Commentary 1. The first faculty of the new list does not differ from the one (third in order) contained in the previous concession. This privilege was not included in the Apostolic Letters Trans ‘Oceanum. It appeared for the first time in the grant of 1939. The N.B. at the foot of this faculty where it is declared that Vicars Capitular and Apostolic Ad ministrators, though not Bishops, enjoy this privilege, is new. 2. The second faculty of the new concession is exactly the same as the fourth of the previous one of 1959. The Codex does not admit general delegations to solemnize marriages, save only for Assistant Parish Priests for the parishes where they are assigned (Can. 1906, § 1). In the concessions given in 1939 and 1949 a restriction was made to the granted privilege. It was stated that the delegation to be given by the local Ordinary to the priests referred to in the faculty could only be exercised “absente Ordinario, vel Parocho, vel Vicario Cooperatore”. These words were omitted already in the list given in 1959 as well as in the recent concession. The above mentioned priests, therefore, may now validly solemnize marriages even if the Ordinary, Parish Priests or his Assistant are present. 3. The faculty no. 3 differs from that in no. 5 in the previous list on the same matter. This is due to the various concessions granted by the Holy See after the Second Vatican Council. The Codex clearly states that “no one except the Roman Pontiff has the power to dis pense from ecclesiastical impediments unless it has been granted him by common law or by special Apostolic Indult” (Can. 1040). Up to the Second Vatican Council the power enjoyed by the local Ordinaries to dispense from matrimonial impediments was contained in canons 1043 and 1045 for the cases of danger of death and of urgent occasions respectively. Such power refers to ecclesiastical impediments, save the impediments of priesthood and affinity in the direct line arising from consummated marriage. ACTION LINE 315 Through the Motu Proprio Pastorale Munus of Nov. 30, 1963 (A.A.S. 56, 1964, pp. 5-12) the Residential Bishops were given some faculties which could be delegated only to his Coadjutor and Auxiliary Bishops and Vicar General. Among these faculties were those of dis pensing from all minor impediments and in urgent cases from the impediments of mixed religion and disparity of cult, on condition that the prescriptions of canons 1161-1164 should be followed. In October, 1965, the Bishops were granted, through the Con ciliar Decree Christus Dominus, the faculty to dispense from general laws of the Church among which are the matrimonial impediments, provided the spiritual welfare of the faithful demands it, save the case when the supreme authority of the Church has established any special reservation. Finally, on June 15, 1966 the Motu Proprio De Episcoporunt Muneribus was issued (/M5, 58, 1966, pp. 467-472), where the general laws of the Church reserved to the Holy See are enumerated. As regards to the matrimonial impediments, the following are reserved to the Holy See: a) The impediment of age, when its defect exceeds one year; b) The impediments of Holy Orders of Diaconate and Priesthood; c) The impediment of solemn religious vows; d) The impediment of crime coming from conjugicide; e) The impediment of consanguinity in direct line and also in the collateral line up to the second degree mixed with first. f) The impediment of affinity in the direct line g) Any impediment when in case of A mixed marriage the prescrip tions contained in n. I of the Instruction Matrimonii Sacramentum of March 18, 1966 cannot be observed. Residential Bishops, therefore, Vicars and Prefects Apostolic, Apostolic Administrators permanently constituted, Abbots and Prelates “nullius” who are nominatim enumerated by the Motu Proprio, may therefore dispense from ecclesiastical impediments other than these re served to the Roman Pontiff, when a reasonable cause exists. The Decennial Faculties now renewed by the Holy See give to all local Ordinaries the faculty to dispense from the ecclesiastical im 316 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS pediments, not reserved to the Holy See, as given to the Residential Bishops through the above mentioned Pontifical documents, save only the impediments of mixed religion and disparity of cult unless faculties to this effect have been obtained from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. 4. The faculty contained in number 4 is entirely identical to its corresponding faculty in number 7 of the previous concession. This privilege was already included in the Apostolic Letters TRANS OCEANUM, no. IV. There is a difference between the old and the new concessions. While the former allowed the use of all sacred oils for four years, the latter restrict its use for only two years. 5. By virtue of the faculty no. 7 of the Pastorale Munus Resi dential Bishops may allow the priests to say Mass outside of a sacred place, provided it is an honest and decent one, never however in a sleeping room, and on a sacred stone, in particular cases when there is a just cause and habitually only for more serious reasons. This faculty given to Residential Bishops* By Pastorale Munus is now granted by the Decennial Faculties to all local Ordinaries, according to can. 198. No mention however, is made to the restriction referring to a sleeping room, nor any distinction is made as to the motives for particular and habitual permissions. The spiritual welfare of the faithful justifies the use of this faculty. 6. The faculty in no. 6 to allow priests to say the Holy Mass in a ship does r.ot differ from its corresponding no. 9 in the previous concession. It appeared for the first time in the grant given in 1939. 7. The privilege in n. 7 corresponds to that contained in n. 11 of the previous concession. There is a slight difference between them. While in the privilege granted in 1959, the time prescribed to fulfill the Easter precept was from Septuagesima to July 16, feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, in the new one the period is from February 2, feast of the Presentation of our Lord to July 16. Thus, the new privilege is more ample. Aside from this privilege contained in the Decennial Faculties, there exists in the Philippines another privilege granted by the Holy ACTION LINE 317 See on February 11, 1910 for an unlimited period of time, by virtue of which the faithful living in these Islands may fulfill the Easter pre cept from Septuagesima up to the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. June 29. Of course, this privilege is more restricted than the one con tained in the new Decennial Faculties and therefore less favorable. It has, however, one advantage over the new one, since it is perpetual, while the new one is valid only for ten years. There was another privilege granted by the Holy See for the in habitants of this country. Upon the petition of the Filipino Hierarchy it was granted on March 22, 1961 that the faithful could fulfill the Easter precept from Septuagesima up to the festivity of All Saints on November 1. It was granted for five years. So it was valid only up to March 22, 1966. This privilege was more ample than the one granted through the Decennial Faculties. The Conference of the Bishops of the Philippines at their meeting on July 25, 1969 decided to petition the Holy See for the privilege to fulfill the Easter Precept in the Philip pines throughout the whole calendar year. The reason for the petition is that Septuagesima has been abolished and the Festivity of All Saints is no longer a day of Obligation in the Philippines. But as far as we know the petition has not been raised to the Holy See up to now. So the privilege granted in the new Decennial Faculties of 1970 is the more favorable and practical at present. Fr. Excelso Garcia, OP EPISCOPAL ORDINATION ANNIVERSARIES I.ct us pray for our Bishops on the occasion of their ordination Most Rev. Joseph Regan April 2.">, 1962 Most Rev. Jesus Y. Varela April 30, 1967 P'lieA.t and the. tyilifuna tyamdy-J*ayaltq.-RelatiGn&luii4. • Wilfredo C. Poguio We have concluded in our previous article that it is the family loyalty in the Filipino which takes the forms of the utang-na-loob norm and the hiya norm that directs his actions. In this article, we shall try to examine this Filipino family loyalty. We shall investigate how a priest introduces himself into the Filipino family-loyalty-circle; how he attains his status here; what obstacles he should be ready to meet; and how he could be re-admitted into'the circle or be placed back to his status as the priest of the circle if ever he fails to preserve the former, the latter or both. We shall also attempt to give suggestions as we go along on how to facilitate operations, on how to avoid failures and on how to win over obstacles. We shall not, however, deal on how to preserve or retain the priest’s membership or role in the circle because this re quires another separate study. We shall only concentrate on the priest’s admission into the Filipino family-loyalty-circle with the proper functions he should play in it. A Filipino family-loyalty-circle is an in-group composed, not necessarily only of persons united by blood relationship, but also of persons related through proximity of dwellings or through economic ties. Indeed, a person enters into the group of another other than that of his own blood relations by economic ties. For example — in the tenant-landlord economic relations, the tenant may not be a relative of the landlord, but he is usually admitted into the landlord’s family-loyalty-circle. With the growth of population, however, and with the dis tribution of lands and the selling of the same — even non-relaTHE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO ... 319 tives become a member of another family-loyalty-circle different from that of his kinsfolks. These enter the circle through proximity. It is usually also in this manner that a priest is admitted into the circle of his parishioners. When a priest arrives at his new parish or when he re ceives a notice of his new assignment, he usually examines himself — his ako. Then, he looks forward to his future or new parishioners, the sila (they), and considers the ako-sila (I-they) relationship. These are often the first two stages a person finds himself in before he enters a new family-loyaltycircle. And later, he is wont to think of the other stages, name ly, the ako-kayo (I-you, plural), relationship, the ako-ikaw (Iyou, singular) relationship, the ako-kami (I-we, exchtsive) rela tionship, and the ako-tayo (I-we, inclusive) relationship. THE PRIEST’S AKO (SELF) Upon examining himself, the priest first and foremost sees that he is a priest. This is most important. Then, he must consider the implications and ramifications of this word. In this stage, he examines his capabilities to cope with the new challenge, that is his new assignment. Most specially, if he is a new priest, his first reaction will be that of fear because of a feeling of incapacity. His training is western. His language usually English. His life in the seminary simply different. In most cases, however, this confusion is calmed down “in the spirit of humility and obedience” or simply by a sense of resignation. At this stage, the priest finds out many shades in his office as a priest. Expectations vary fron’i different angles. For the sake of study, therefore, we shall briefly discuss four of these facets, namely, the role of the priest by biological definition, the role of the priest by situational definition, the role of the priest by cultural definition and the role of the priest by Vatican II definition. However, it must be noted at the outset, that the last division, which is quite high sounding, does not necessarily im ply new roles, nor new dimensions in the priestly apostolate. It is just a renewal by means of a re-emphasis on not-too-talked about sides of a priest’s pastoral duties which seem to have been forgotten or just brushed aside as impractical in the pro ceeding epoch but which appear timely in our present age. 320 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS By Biological Definition The priest is of his age and of his sex. A young priest has the young as his comrades. Sports like basketball, tennis or softball attract him. His, therefore, is the apostolate of the youth. He is more fit to go up and down mountains and hills for pastoral duties. He is bored at staying in the rectory at all times. Parties can be very helpful but dancing is not yet accept ed by our people. Old priests, on the other hand, would want old companions. Apostolates which do not need much energy suit him. As a general rule, the two must compliment each other. Regarding sex for both — celibacy is the rule. A story to clarify this point can help: I once asked my parish priest why he does not make house visitations. ’’Why should I?” he remarked. “Because you are a priest”, I answered. “Even Jesus visited Lazarus, Mary and Marta”, I continued. “Marta?” he asked surprised, and went on “Bisitahin mo si Marta ngayon, iisipin ng tao nagliligaw kA.!”. (Visit Marta nowadays, people will think you are courting her!) True, indeed, our people, in spite of their high regard for celibacy, are suspicious of priests in this matter. Bad exper iences in the past, perhaps coupled with calumnies serve as its causes. Care and prudence, therefore, must be observed. By Situational Definition The first people a new parish priest meets in his new parish is the sacristan, the daily churchgoers — mostly old women termed as manangs or beatas—and the officers and mem bers of religious organizations like the legionaries, the cursillistas, the CWL members etc. This is specially true in the provin ces. Usually, these form the priest’s first family-loyalty-circle. Situations demand this. And the priest is expected to smoothly go along with them because they are supposed to be his principal helpers in the administration of the parish. They, most often, have long been associated with the parish church that people, as a general rule, believe what they say. They serve as the middlemen between the priest and the people. THE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO ... 321 Danger, however, comes when priest-parishioner relation ship is carried only through these middlemen. The approach remains impersonal. And the priest will depend so much in this middlemen that the entire success of his administration might solely depend on them. A small negligible disagreement can inflame the whole parish against the parish priest. By Cultural Definition From traditions handed down to us, the priest is pictured to the people as a demigod on a pedestal dealing only on super natural matters from his armchair. They are respected and deferred to for reasons, which, if we dig deeper, will reveal to us that this is all because of the authority and prestige of the priests of preceeding generations which are still externally re tained but apparently internally vacuum. Indeed, today, people regard priests as detached outsiders viewed in many respects as instruments of God for purposes they do not fully understand. In a society where sociability is a way of life, our cultural definition of a priest is quite strange. For, whereas in our society, a child grows always with a company — as a child, he is always watched; when he gets sick or becomes a victim of any misfortune, people visit him; and even as a corpse, he is guarded (paglalamay sa patay) — a priest is almost always seen mysteriously confined in his conrento. It is no wonder, then, that we often hear of parents threatening a child with the presence of a priest to make him stop crying. For, is it not true that the asicany (vampire) is named thus because of his secretive, surly, prone to isolation'characteristics? By Vatican II Definition The priest must be a leader. As the Council says: “.. . priests have been placed in the midst of the laity to lead them to the unity of charity. . .”. (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, no. 9) And a priest’s leadership is manifested when he exerts efforts to effect a change or improvement in the values, attitudes, beliefs and ways of life of the members of his parish. His are the powers of sanctifying, teaching and ruling. It is im portant to note, however, that, in this article, we shall deal more 322 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS directly with his power of ruling with the view that this, well understood against the cultural background of the people, the exercise of the other powers can be facilitated. This task of ruling can be undertaken in two ways: by the stick (pamalo) method and by the instruction (pagtuturo) me thod. The stick method is done by way of imposing one’s own views and attitudes on the people. It is characterized by a use of force or coercion which may be psychological, moral or argu mentative in nature. The persons subjected to these strains have no other choice but to accept those views and attitudes. This first method is not recommended by the Church. Vatican II says: “And the demand is increasingly made that men should act on their own judgement, enjoying and making use of a responsible freedom, not driven by coercion but motivated by a sense of duty.” (Declaration on Religious Freedom, no. 1) The Council, therefore, recommends the instruction method which is undertaken when one’s objective is to find, create, and further in the soul of the people the disposition which will lead to the acceptance of what they have recognized as right or true. For, if, indeed, one’s attitudes and values are right and true, then, they must also be alive in the personal world of others as possibilities in them. They only need to be opened out and made conscious of these possibilities so that they themselves can bring them to realization according to their individuality and unique ness. It is only through this that the culture of mature and responsible persons are unified, strengthened, perfected and restored to Christ. THE AKO-SILA (I-THEY) RELATIONSHIP This relationship is characterized by the priest’s analytical perception of his new parishioners by which he isolates, observes, studies and tries to discover its different component parts. He investigates what proportion of the population is Catho lic; how many barrios there are in the parish; how smooth the parish-civil government relation is; whether there are any warring political lords; or whether there are any family feuds. He can also inquire about the general intellectual and economic capacity of the parish. He can even assess the success or failure of the out-going parish priest. By these, he can have a long ranged planning of the parish administration under himself. THE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO ... 323 In general, it is important to note that our people are deeply conscious of social classes. Of course, all societies have this. Even the so-called classless society of communist countries does not absolutely deny this. The difference, however, is that our sense of social classes is a sense of family background, rather than a sense of economic influence. Our social structure rests more “on one’s antecedents and on one’s position in society, and less on how much money we have or how we make it.” As a matter of fact, our sense of family background is so deep that even today, parents, before consenting to a marriage of a child, first examine the race (angkan) of a proposing party. They will never want their children to have a part with a family of a questionable or irreputable background. Thus, we see the wisdom of the Church in first investigating the family back ground of the candidates to her priesthood before she ordains them. Also, under this topic, we can add that, in this our modern age, when materialism had slowly crept into our society — wealth had gained grounds to be a basis of social clasifications. The last few decades witnessed a rapid rise of a middle class specially in big towns and cities. In general, however, in barrios and small towns, there are only two prevailing classes of Fili pinos — the rich and the poor. Moreover, it is interesting to note that between these two classes, there is really no conflicting atmosphere, contrary to what presentday activists would want us to believe. They are bound together by mutual dependence. For, we must remember that, for example, the tenant, in a tenant-landlord relationship, usually, becomes a member of the landlord’s family-loyalty circle. They, therefore, feel close to one another and render mutual support. And this is not just because the whole group of upper class people, (the «mo) is allied with the whole group of the lower class people (the tauhan). It is rather because “lines have been drawn linking specific upper class people with their particular followers.” That there are malpractices, one cannot deny. But tenants are not aware of these. All they know is that they are a part of the family-loyalty-circle and, therefore, they must do their part for it. Priests, in these cases, must come in to form the con sciences of both parties, specially those of the higher stratum, in conformity with the ecclesiastical and governmental norms of justice. 324 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS THE AKO-KAYO (I-YOU, PLURAL) RELATIONSHIP This relationship takes effect when the priest has already recognized and accepted his new parishioners as no longer a group composed of parts or as a sum of all its parts but as a whole and a unit. Here, the priest compares his previous fa mily-loyalty-circle with his new parish — their customs and traditions, their unique temperaments, their values and culture. It is also in this stage that he notices his parishioners to be still attached to their previous parish priest. They still keep their loyalty to him. And a priest usually finds this a great obstacle towards his acceptance by the people. And this is spe cially so when the previous parish priest still have contact with them. Also, a priest, in his first attempt of building foundations of amicable relationship with his new parishioners, can observe that his people, like all other Filipinos, are not so easy to estab lish friendly relations with. This, however, should not cause him surprise, because it js actually said that one of the most difficult of tribes to befriend are the Ilongots of the Sierra Madre and the Negritos of Mariveles, who are also Filipinos. So far, sociologists have also observed, that outside of fellow natives, only foreign missionaries have somehow succeeded in discovering the method and tact for gaining the confidence of our natives of the forests. And it is also reported that even these missionaries are hard set in communicating with the Ilongots because even these ministers are said to lose their heads in the enterprise. In connection with this, we can note that the Filipino is really innately shy. For example, during parties, it is an or deal to make people circulate, meet and entertain one another. Everybody will beg to be excused, and keep to his corner with his own clique. In like manner, it is hard to make people approach the dining table. They would always beg off. They will suggest that it will be better to begin with others. In courtships, the Filipino, as a rule, never gets so fresh as to intrude into the friendship of a girl who has made a special impression on him. He is usually cautious. Hints are first given to the girl. Friends are asked to make introductory adTHE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO . . . 325 vances. Complimentary tokens are sent. He keeps crossing her path everywhere she goes. He sees to it that he gets in vited to the same parties she attends. Similarly, it is also true that Filipinos have the custom of using intermediaries. When someone desires a favor from another, he first looks for an individual close to him. And he makes his request when he is already fortified by that in dividual’s company or letter. The same is the case with the suitor above. In this regard, it is helpful to observe that the Filino use of the third person in negotiating some social functions or even in settling disputes can be undertaken by a priest within this cultural context of the ako-kayo relationship. This was actually the role of the data during the baranga.v times, who acted as an arbiter of disputes in a personalistic, paternal way in his community. For example, a priest can act as a third party in a family dispute or in a marriage negotiation. He can play the role of a middleman between his barrio people and some government of ficials or some influential friends in town. In this way, he can penetrate into the family-loyaltv-circle of the parish; be vicariously influential even without surplus mo ney to be distributed to the poor; gain the confidence of the peo ple, their cooperation and their love — towards a better exercise of his ministry. This is some kind of ruling power which can help the priest teach and sanctify his faithful. THE AKO-IKAW (I-YOU, SIXCl’RAR) RELATIONSHIP This relational movement consists in the recognition and acceptance of a person’s otherness or uniqueness, that is, of what this particular person really is and more specially of what he is destined to be as a Christian. This relationship is important to a priest specially as a confessor and as a spirit ual director. Obstacle to this interpersonal relationship is the Filipino sense of personal dignity, rooted from the ancient pride of the Malay race, which bids him to acquire good appearance before authority in general, and, for that matter, also before the priest in particular. 326 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Another manifestation of obstacle to this relationship ap pears in the acquired indio complex of the Filipino, more popularly called colonial mentality, implanted in him by cen turies of foreign rule. This mentality makes the Filipino tend to feel out of place in a gathering of renowned people or to feel uncomfortable when coming face to face with a person of authority, specially when such prove to be a new comei’ to the family-loyalty-circle to which he belongs. In spite of these, however, once involved in an interper sonal relation, the Filipino is most cordial and loyal. We can mention some manifestations of this: A jilted girl often chooses either the convent or the state of spinsters. Widows are not supposed to take another husband years after the death of the first one. Second husbands, as well as wives, are gene rally frowned at. At burials, it is a shock if nobody faints. Our All Saints’ Day practices also point to this. All that a priest is to do, therefore, is to encourage this sin cere, loyal interpersonal relationship in the spirit of pastoral care for his flock. Family visitations can help a lot towards this. The priest can also take advantage of opportunities such as house blessings, enthronements and sick calls. THE AKO-KAMI (I-WE, EXCLUSIVE) RELATIONSHIP This event of relation is characterized by its directness, mutuality and exclusiveness. It is direct because in this rela tion, no instrumentalities nor influences intervene. It is mutual because it happens between the ako and the kami. (This mutuality, however, is based on the presupposition that what ever is good for the group is good for the individual.) And this is exclusive because, here, when the ako perceives the kami, the kami dissolves the ako, meaning that, the ako per ceives all other things in terms of the kami. This is different from the ako-sila relationship because this is more personal; and is distinguished from the ako-kayo relationship because of that sense of belongingness which the ako experiences. An example to clarify this relation will be fitting: A new university rector took office. He is not immediately accepted by the studentry. In a riot between the rector’s students and the students of another university, the rector came to pacify THE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO ... 327 his students. The rector’s students, instead of listening to him, shouted at him calling him names. It happened, however, that the rector was hit by a stone from the opposing party. Realizing this, all at once, there was a shout: “Ipagtanggol si Father Rector! ”. (Defend Father Rector!) And stones show ered on the opposite camp. Here, we notice that the advise of the rector (the ako) was not heeded because he is supposed to be a member of the kami, who must conform with it. However, when the rector was hit, there was a spontaneous defense manifesting the kami principle which must be defended in spite of the unworthiness of the ako — since the ako, as we have said, is nothing com pared to the kami. A misfortune or dishonor of the ako within the kami is a misfortune or dishonor of the kami. In this ako-kami relationship, therefore, we must have ob served that there are two elements, namely, the individual and the circle. Among our traditional social activities, feasts can best exemplify this individual-circle interaction. We know, for example, that all over the country, during the feast of a family, food and drinks overflow. Everybody is welcome. Apart from the meats and the fishes, there are other delicacies that have been prepared weeks ahead. Guests are not abundantly served but are also provided with a send off package (pabalsa) for the people at home. Wakes, bap tisms. weddings, anniversaries, graduations, arrivals and departures of members of the family, and Christmas — aside from the annual town fiesta—deserve a feast. There are town or barrio feasts, moreover, which require sponsors. For example — the May-time santakrusan. This re quires a considerable expense. But this has become a status-get ting and status-validating device. So, applicants are never lack ing. Besides, as insurance against refusal of this costly honor, there exists a local belief, supported by well-known cases, that fortune comes to the sponsor (hermano mayor), and misfortune to the man who rejects the honor. By acquiring the temporary status of hermano mayor, a person is also given an automatic recognition as a temporary status bearer for the entire family-loyalty-circle. Hence, if a member of a circle is selected hermano mayor. the whole circle would rally round, as in the family feast, and help to make 328 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS this feast a success lest their own status should fall through a decline in the status of the whole family-loyalty-circle caused by the poor festivities. Therefore, we can say that the spirit that dominates Fili pino feasts is the yearning to honor the family in the eyes of others. It is the honor of the family-loyalty-circle which must be emphasized, and not that of the individual. That is why an important feature of this individual-circle inter-relation, although within the circle individuals have spe cialized roles — married women act as household supervisors; as such, they look after their sons and daughters who man the home; they handle the money and husbands only help in the planning of feasts; they do the marketing; men serve as the money earners — is that the interest of the individual must be sacrificed for that of the circle. We can also notice this in the following practices. Parents sacrifice for the education of child ren. Older children sacrifice for younger ones. Marriages are put off to help the family. Indeed, it is good that within the family-loyalty-circle, mem bers tend to help one another. Even among the families within the circle, there is this mutual help that is given. For example, during calamities, like typhoons, poor families with small houses go to the big houses of their relatives to protect themselves. The house owner receives them. Thus, through this system, security is attained. A common practice is the case of radios or televisions shared by the rest of the members of the family-loyalty-circle. What is bad, however, is that this tight family-loyalty circle gives rise to destructive Filipino characteristics like the nht(;as kuyon (a frantic enthusiasm to start something but ultimately ends in accomplishing nothing), mana-na habit (a pattern of behaviour that bids one to put off the accomplish ment of a task or the attainment of a goal which could have otherwise been immediately accomplished or attained), bahala na (a happen-what-may attitude placing everything in the hands of fate), etc. These bad habits occur because, within the group, there will always be those who will do things for others in the name of the family-loyalty-circle honor which is at stake. THE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO . . . 329 Another evil is that this tight system tends to pull down those who want to rise because they are obliged to help. For example, big brothers must support younger ones in spite of their future. Fr. Bulatao, SJ rightly pointed out that this need to immerge the individual in the group is perhaps due to our authoritarian tradition. The individual must do what he is expected to do. Not trusting in his own thinking for fear that he might deceive himself, he must obey the counsel of the elders. A group oriented individual is what the Filipino is. What others might say or the fear to disgrace his own family become the norms of his activities. And this is perpetuated because there is really no revolt within the big brother. He is contented as long as he does what he thinks is good for the circle, even if he sacrifice his own future. Now, this individual sacrifice and the above mentioned mu tual help within the circle can easily be righted by the priest into the true form of Christian charity. Through this, equal dis tribution of surplus goods can also be properly directed to the benefit of the poor and the weak which the Council more specially entrusts to the priest. Priests can also help much in the for mation of mature and responsible individualized consciences through semons, confessions and spiritual counselling. The other problem, moreover, that the priest will encounter is the fact that the Filipino family-lovalty-circle is so tight that it remains very narrow and cannot extend itself beyond the family, relatives and few others. Sociologists, on this matter, agree that this problem can be solved by a leader who can transcend all the small familylovalty-circles in his community, take upon himself the con sensus of the circle as a whole, reconcile contrary or even opposing views, and has a broadness of mind sufficiently above partisan interests. The answer is indeed an individual who is a “mature, individuated person, sensitive to the feeling of others, yet autonomous in his own rights’’. This need, however we believe, can be answered by the priest, who, with his rigid training in the seminary, has the command of the Council: ‘In building the Christian Community, priests are never to put themselves at the service of any ideology or hu 330 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS man faction. Rather, as heralds of the gospel and shepherds of the Church, they must devote themselves to the spiritual growth of the Body of Christ.” (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priest, no. 6) THE AKO-TAYO (I-WE, INCLUSIVE) RELATIONSHIP This is a synthesis of the ako-kami (I-we exclusive) and the ako-ikaw (I-you, singular) relationships. This is character ized by a strong sense of personalism tempered by a deep, almost instinctive, group belongingness. This is the relationship envi sioned by the Council: “The office of pastor is not confined to the care of the faithful as individuals (ako-ikaw), but also in a true sense is extended to the formation of a genuine Christian community (ako-tayo)...”. (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, no. 6) Towards the realization of this Christian community, the Filipino natural respect for authority (galang) is an advantage. The Filipino tendency to turn to religion for refuge in times of sufferings is another. Filipino values, like our Filipino hospital ity, can be easily Christianized. For example, travellers like pilgrims to Antipolo, coming from far provinces, need not worry about shelter or food at night, as long as they have friends and acquiantances along their ways. All they need to do was apply at the gate and they will be immediately welcomed and solicitously waited on for free. Indeed, Filipino values are such that they can easily be adapted to Christianity. All that is required is a priest to lead the people towards this goat CULTURAL EQUALIZING SYSTEM Problems, however, can confront a priest when one con siders the strength of Filipino traditions. The natural segurista character of the Filipino will not, without sufficient reasons and assurances for success, permit any innovation, ex periment nor risk. THE PRIEST AND THE FILIPINO ... 331 And Filipino family-loyalty-circles have it that individuals must not rise above the group. If someone, therefore, tries to do this, even if he is a priest, he usually receives glum or sour faces and, sometimes, even open disagreement. Harsh words with the tone of sarcasm and irony can easily be heard. For example, if a man buys a television set while his neighbors have none yet, he can receive a “so you are already rich” remark. The most efficacious equalizing means, however, is gossip (tsismis). This is an antipathetic aversion from an individual or group of individuals externalized through vicious talk against him or them with or without basis. It is not unusual that a priest becomes a victim of this. And it is here where his pa tience and humility is often tested. FINAL REDEMPTIVE ADOPTION These conflicts, however, are necessary. What priests should do is to always avoid giving valid grounds to these equal izing systems. And the people can easily forgive. The sapayka’t siya’y tao lamany reason is usually enough to regain admission to the circle. The priest’s authority, his purpose of service to the community and his exemplary life seen by the people will also help a lot. The people’s aim (compassion) can also redeem the priest. This is a sympathetic conversion to an individual or group of individuals who are suffering because of natural or human causes which can be justly or unjustly inflicted. Care, however, in this case, must be taken by the priest in order not to show the people that with them, he also experiences compassion or pity for himself. This would imply defeat and weakness incompatible with the Filipino concept of a leader and inconsistent with the Filipino pride. As a conclusion, therefore, we can say that culturally, the Filipino priest has not really lost his role within the Filipino so ciety into which he must be admitted. As a matter of fact, the Council, with the proper adaptation to our culture, even more specifically points to his role as the leader within the ako-tayo 332 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS relational and universal family-loyalty-circle. Indeed, we can even add that just to make this ako-tayo famiiy-loyalty-circle as his goal for which to work, is more than enough to consume his time, exhaust his energy and have a very special place in the hearts of his people. And if he does this, there is really no rea son why consolling tears from the eyes of his parishioners will not fall, when he is about to leave them for another assignment. REFERENCES Symposium on the Filipino Personality. A Publication of the Psycholo gical Association of the Philippines. (Makati, Rizal: MDB Printing, I960) “The Anatomy of Philippine Psychology”, Vnitas, XXXVIII: 4: (Decem ber, 19G5), 477-G36 Lynch, Frank, SJ, compiler. Four Readings on Philippine Values. IPC Papers, No. 2. Institute of Philippine Culture. (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 19G2) Bulatao, Jaime, SJ, “Changing Social Values”, Philippine Studies. X:2 (April, 19G2), 206-14 Abbot, Walter, SJ, ed. The Documents of Vatican II. (New York: The American Press, 1966) “Working to plant the Church, and thoroughly enriched with the treasures of mysticism adorning the Church’s religious tradition, religious communities should strive to give expression to the trea sures and to hand them on in a manner harmonious with the nature and the genius of each nation. Let them reflect attentively on how Christian religious life may be able to assimilate the ascetic and con templative traditions whose seeds were sometimes already implanted by God in ancient cultures prior to the preaching of the Gospel.” (Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, no, 18) THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES (Continued) Chapter 15 JURISDICTION CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES The conflicts between the church and the civil authorities which play a prominent part in the history of the Philippines did not really start until the incumbency *of Governor Gomez Perez Dasmaririas. (1590-93). Gifted with admirable prudence, Legazpi behaved irre proachably in his relations with church officials and, far from interfering with ecclesiastical matters, never did anything important without first consulting the Augustinian fathers. After the Adelantado’s death (1572), the latter had to fight some governors and encomenderos who took advantage of their power and social standing to commit different kinds of abuses on the people of their encomiendas. The arrival of Bishop Salazar (15&1), a most upright and un bending man when the dictates of his conscience and the law of God so motivated him, could not but presage an era of clashes between the church and civil authorities and encomenderos, the latter just as in transigent in the defense of their rights real or imagined. The first confrontations between the two powers took place during the tenure of Governors Ronquillo, De Vera and Dasmaririas; but these had no further consequences. With the suppression in Dasmaririas’ time of the royal audiencia, however, the only effective counterbalance to the para-despotism of the governor-general was removed. Salazar had to make a trip to Spain in 1591 to seek redress for various evils 334 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS before the royal court. Among those that concerned the natives were the following: abuses and exactions in the collection of the tribute by the encomenderos and soldiers; more or less forced labor, almost always ill-paid, exacted from the natives in the mines, in rowing the royal gal leys, in felling timber for the galleons; the purchase by the Spaniards of local products, especially rice, at fixed prices or those of harvest time, to be later resold in times of need at a much higher cost to the natives; the license of the underpaid and hungry and needy soldiery in getting what they wanted for their sustenance. These abuses were corrected to a great extent, thanks to the efforts of Salazar and the ecclesiastical element in the Philippines.1 But these skirmishes did not have notoriety nor caused the bitterness of the incidents which we will now briefly relate, three of which are quite known in both civil and ecclesiastical annals of the Philippines. 1 San Agustin, Gaspar, O.S.A., Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (Madrid, 1698), 422, 426-27, 258; Blair and Robertson, II, 122; III, 22, 24, 255, 256; V, 190, 217-251; VI, 61 ff. I. The Exile of Archbishop Guerrero in 1636. Let us begin with the conflict between Archbishop Hemando Guerrero of Manila and Governor-General Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera. A Spanish artilleryman, by name Francisco de Nava, re siding in Manila in 1635, had a slave girl with whom he maintained illicit relations. The archbishop learned of this and told him to sell her. A Spanish lady, Doha Maria de Francia, wife of the governor’s nephew Don Pedro de Corcuera, bought her. The soldier, unable to forget her, promised to marry her. But, unsuccessful in his suit, he treacherously killed her on 19 August, as she walked with her mistress along the road of the Jesuit college. For his wife’s sake, Don Pedro took interest in the case, so much so that the unfortunate Nava ex pired on the gallows on 6 September. Neither his right of sanctuary in the San Agustin convent saved him, nor the archbishop’s claim of jurisdiction over his person. For this reason, the archbishop excommuni cated the judge, at the time the general of the artillery, and later put the city under interdict. The litigation was complicated with the in tervention of Don Pedro de Monroy, Provisor of the archdiocese and CHURCH HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 335 persona non grata to the governor, resulting from having taken part in the promulgation of the excommunication, and with the refusal of the Jesuit provincial to attend a meeting of the religious orders summoned by the archbishop in an effort to solve these difficulties. As a last resort, the latter deprived the Jesuits of their faculties to preach in the archdiocese. In defense of their rights, the Jesuits named as Jwe? conservador Father Fabian de Santillan, a secular priest who hurled a sentence of excommunication against the archbishop, besides imposing a steep fine on him. In the end, everything was settled, plus other incidents which do not concern us here, by intervention of the governor. Everything promised permanent peace, when another incident occurred to add fuel to the half-extinguished bonfire. In April 1636, the Archdean of the Cathedral, Don Francisco de Valdes, partly due to tiredness in attending choir, partly due to a clergyman’s urging, renounced his position into the hands of the arch bishop. Refused by the latter, the archdean presented his resignation to the governor. It seems that the latter had been waiting for the renuntiation to nominate the priest Andres Arias Giron for the vacated dignity. He did so as Vice-Regal Patron. But the archbishop did not want to proceed with the canonical investiture of Giron because of serious charges made against him by the natives of Ermita. To compel the archbishop, the royal audiencia, composed only of the governor who sat as president and the oidor Marcos Zapata, since Don Alvaro de Mesa the other oidor had just died, dispatched a royal proviso ordering Guerrero to confer canonical investiture on the priest Giron, or suffer exile and confiscation of goods. Considering the unbending disposition of Corcuera, the prelate be lieved he was indeed bound to be exiled. Thus, on the night of 9 May, a little after the receipt of the royal order, advised by mature religious, he ordered the Blessed Sacrament to be brought to the palace from the church of San Francisco. Vested in his episcopal robes before the altar, he took the monstrance in his hands. In this position, he was found by the fifty harquebusiers sent by the chief constable to arrest him. But at the sight of tht prelate holding the Blessed Sacrament, the 336 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS only thing they did was to fall on their knees, while the governor was notified of such an unusual impasse. The latter ordered the soldiers to empty the hall of the religious who stood around the archbishop, and not to allow the prelate to take any food nor permit him to satisfy any other unavoidable needs. On Corcuera’s repeated orders, and after breaking down their stubborn resistance, the soldiers got some religious out of the hall, while others left of their own will. Only a negro domestic stayed by the arch bishop. More than 12 hours had passed when the archbishop, tired out by the strain of standing on his feet with the heavy weight of the mons trance in his hands, hungry and worn out, asked the friars of San Fran cisco to return the Blessed Sacrament to their convent. Deprived of this defense, he gave himself up to the custody of the soldiers. They took him out of the city through the gate of Santo Domingo and boarded him in a junk to Corregidor island where, sheltered in a bamboo and nipa hut, he was detained for 26 days until, through the mediation of some prebendaries and the Dominican Fr. Domingo Gonzalez, he concluded peace with the governor. However he had to agree provisionally and against his will to the following conditions, pending a reply from thi king; 1) that he would confirm Andres Arias Giron in his rank as Archdean of the Cathedral and not proceed against him under any pretext; 2) that he would confirm the Jesuits in the ministry of Santa Cruz, which the secular clergy were disputing at the time; 3) that he would grant to the chief chaplain of the royal chapel founded by Corcuera faculties to administer the sacraments to the In fantry Corps, their wives and families. Close on the heels of this exile there occurred a series of calamities in the Philippines which chroniclers and historians saw as the expression of God’s wrath for the ill treatment meted out to the archbishop by the civil power.2 2 Gonzalez, Antonio, O.P., Relation sumaria del destierro del limo. Sr. Don Fray Hernando Guerrero, Arzobispo de Manila, Ms in APSR, Seccion “Historia eclesiastica de Filipinas,” Tomo 3, documento 5, folios 103-111; Concepcion, Juan de la, Historia general de Filipinas (Manila, 1788), V, 261303; Navas del Valle, Francisco, Cat^logo de documentos relativos a las Islas Filipinas (Barcelona, 1933), XXI-L; Blair and Robertson XXXV, 159-200; XXVI. 31-59. CHURCH HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 337 II. The Battles of Archbishop Pardo. Of the various conflicts and rivalries between the supreme civil and ecclesiastical authorities in the Philippines, none reached such pro portions and produced so much literature as the fight between Archbishop Felipe Pardo of Manila (1677-1689) on one side and Governor Juan de Vargas y Hurtado and the oidores of the royal audiencia on the other. These conflicts and the ensuing break of good relations between them had their causes from way back. As the his torian Fonseca says: “At the time there existed in the capital of the Philippines age-old abuses and lamentable disorders, which the worthy predecessors of Archbishop Pardo had tried to correct in virtue of their pastoral obligations, but without being able to reap the desired result of their zeal.” ‘ Doubtless the frequent recursos de fuerzd' to which the guilty appealed before the royal audiencia had helped greatly to frustrate the prelates’ actions. The audiencia, at times in open violation of ecclesias tical immunity, supported the delinquents. All this pointed to an unavoidable conflict, once the see of Manila came to be occupied by an energetic prelate with a will strong enough to fight to the end for the rights of the Church. The first fight of Archbishop Pardo with the royal audiencia was occasioned by a testamentary disposition entrusted to an ecclesiastic. Cristobal Carballo of the diocese of Nueva Caceres (1677). We shall not relate it here in order not to delay too much. We shall also omit, for the same reason, the litigation rather more serious and quite notorious, between the ecclesiastical governor of die diocese of Nueva Segovia, Don Lucas Arquero Robles and the beneficed cure of Vigan, Don Diego de Espinosa Maranon.3 4 5 3 Fonseca, Joaquin, O.P., Historia de las PP. Dominicos (Madrid, 1871) III, 397. 4 Fuerza: as here used,, indicates violence to law, done by ecclesiastical judges (Blair and Robertson, VII, 246, footnote 40). Fuerza is injury com mitted by an ecclesiastical judge in: 1) hearing a case which does not come within his jurisdiction; 2) non-observance of rules of procedure; or, 3) unjust refusal to allow an appeal. In such cases, the aid of the secular courts may be invoked by the recurso de juerza, and thus cases were brought before the Audiencia. P.A. Cushing (Ibid, V, 292, n ). 5 Fonseca, Op. cit., 400-413. 338 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS Following this, a third fight occured to embitter the heart of the archbishop. He felt this all the more, since it came from a quarter he had least expected, i.e., the chapter of the Manila cathedral, who resented the archbishop’s action in accord with the Vice-Patron, of having segregated from the Bagumbayan parish administered by the secular clergy the Spanish community, to incorporate them in the pa rishes of the towns of their residence, like Tondo, Santa Cruz, etc. The chapter addressed a letter to the prelate filled with accusations, demanding that, in the case of the Bagumbayan parish, things be res tored to their former status, and that he remove from his side the Dominican Fr. Raimundo Verart his chief adviser in canonical matters. Failing this, they warned that they would be forced to file before the royal audiencia a recurso de fuerza. Such a strange procedure on the part of the chapter must be partially explained by the fact that the archbishop had admonished some of the members with sufficiently harsh words. The archbishop forwarded the case to the Vice-Regal Patron who on examination, expressed himself in terms not too flattering to the cabildo. Because of this memorandum, a crossfire of written missives began, bitter enough, between the prelate and his chapter, and between the latter and the Dominican Provincial, who now began to join in the epistolary war because Father Verart was his subject, and because he felt some of the language used by such a distinguished body was of fensive to his Order. Finally, the canons decided to file the case on recurso de fuerza before the royal audiencia, which offered to support them by drawing up two royal provisions: one addressed to the Dominican provincial that he assign Fr. Verart to another station or mission outside Manila; the other to Archbishop Pardo to remove the latter from his side. Because the replies of these two prelates did not satisfy them, the audience threatened both with exile. In such a tie-up, Fr. Verart, sensing that he was in a way the cause of this persecution, decided to volunteer to go to Bataan, whence he returned to attend the consecration of Archbishop Pardo; but he had to retire again in the face of the unfriendly welcome accorded him by the chapter and the royal audiencia. CHURCH HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 339 Two other incidents followed at this time, adding more fuel to the flames of these on-going disputes: the inquest instituted on orders of the prelate against Jeronimo de Herrera, chaplain of the Infantry Corps at Manila and Treasurer of the Chapter, concerning certain ano malies of conduct; and a sermon of the Dominican Fr. Francisco Villalba on the feast of the Epiphany, 1683, which in the ears of the governor and the oidores of the Audiencia contained offensive words to their authority and persons. The former filed a plea or recurso de fuerza before the royal audiencia against the archbishop; but in vain, because shortly before a royal cedula had arrived authorizing him to proceed against the culprit. The latter was banished from the Islands and sent to Mexico. So many attacks on his authority urged Archbishop Pardo to use the spiritual weapons which the Church had placed in his hands for such cases of violence against him and against ecclesiastical immunity. But he did not avail himself of them, considering them ineffective at the moment and probably self-defeating. Besides the Church had al ready provided enough legal sanctions for such eventualities. Two more cases were added to what had gone before, hastening the exile of Pardo: the testament of Fr. Jeronimo Ortega and the case of bigamy instructed against a chinese mestizo and artilleryman of Cavite, Lorenzo Magno. We shall not detail these here in order not to get more involved in this labyrinth of complex legal battles. Suffice it to say that the strong reaction of the prelate to some words contained in a proviso sent to him by the audiencia with the occasion of the soldier’s suit, coupled with former actuations, led this high tribunal to decree in March 1683 the archbishop’s exile to the Babuyanes islands, Cagayan, or Pangasinan, as he might choose. And indeed, on the 31st of that same month, a posse of soldiers appeared at the archiepiscopal residence to execute the decree on or ders of the Master of the Camp, Fernando de Bobadilla and the Sergeant-Major, Alonso de Oponte. The oidores Diego Calderon y Serrano and Cristobal Grimaldos de Herrera sanctioned the act by the authority of their presence. Right away the archbishop, without pro 340 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS visions, was shipped to Corregidor island and from there to Lingayen, where, separated from his church, he had to await for a year and a half the outcome of this conflict. A few days before his exile, the prelate had foreseen enough to appoint as governor of the archdiocese his auxiliary, Bishop Gines de Barrientos, titular of Troy. But soon after, the cathedral chapter seized the government of the church, having fraudulently deprived Barrientos of the title of his appointment. The Dean, Miguel Ortiz de Cobarrubias, by his own authority and in his name, appointed himself Vicar General. This sorry state of affairs will not change until the arrival in Manila in 1685 of Vargas’ successor, Don Gabriel Cruzualegui, who, desirous of setting things right, began to offer the powers of his office to pro mote good. Thanks to this, Barrientos by a daring stroke, was able to assume the government of the archdiocese. The dean and the chap ter, shorn of authority, had to beg absolution from their censures which were imposed on them ad reincidentiam; while the royal audiencia, now presided over by the new governor, agreed in extraordinary ses sion, to lift the ban of exile on Archbishop Pardo. The latter did not avenge himself on those who had caused him sufferring; he was ready without difficulty to absolve from censures all who asked for it with a sincere resolve to amend. Thus, the mem bers of the chapter received pardon. Ex-governor Hurtado, after having appealed the case to the audiencia and brought the proceedings to such a point as to almost occasion another decree of exile against the arch bishop, died impenitent. By sentence of the Royal Council of the Indies confirmed by the king, some of the officials who had direct participation in this regrettable event lost their office and were exiled from the Philippines. Antonio de Viga, who had also authorized the imprisonment of the Dominican Provincial, died unreconciled in Cagayan. And, before the sentence of ostracism reached them in Manila, the oidores Grimaldos and Calderon had already left this life, the former unabsolved of the censures, the latter with all the helps of his religion. The Dean Miguel Ortiz de Cobarrubias, summoned to Spain by the king, ended his days there. CHURCH HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 341 Thus Archbishop Pardo in each of his trials triumphed over his rivals and opponents. The victory, of course, was not the end of all his fights and troubles; they went on until 1869, the year of his death.'1 11 Fernando, Juan, O.P., Historia de la provincia del santisimo rosario. Anos 1630-1737, Ms in APSR, Seccion “Historia de la Provincia,” Tomo 9 (169), fols. 192v-214v; Blair and Robertson “The Pardo Controverysy," XXXIX. 148-275. III. The Imprisonment of Archbishop Cuesta and the Assassina tion of Governor Bustamente (1719). On Conde Lizarraga’s death, Don Jose de Torralba became acting governor of the Philippines (1715-17), until the arrival of the proprie tory governor, Don Fernando Bustillo y Bustamante, who unexpectedly reached Manila on 9 August of this latter year. An upright man, but of a harsh and strong character, he necessarily was going to meet headon with that Manila community which had grown quite used to work ing outside the pale of law in matters commercial. And so, one of the new governor’s first measures was to send Torralba to prison because of proven and serious charges of having embezzled state funds. An identical fate overtook in a few days the oidores Julian de Velasco and Francisco Toribio, professors of law in the University of San Felipe, recently founded. And finally, Bustamante deprived Jose Antonio Pabon of his magistracy, notwithstanding a royal cedula authorizing him to exercise the office. All this climaxed in the rebellion of Juan Domingo de Nebra, captain of the Acapulco-bound galleon. Having but anchored off Cavite, he did not hesitate to throw into the sea two officials sent by the governor to arrest him on suspicions of disloyalty. With this and with rumors of an uprising instigated by Don Jose Morales, the governor, without confidante or counselor since some were in prison and others had abandoned him, decided to put himself in the hands of Torralba, the wicked genius who came to complicate the situation even more with his intrigues. On the latter’s advice, Bustamante ordered the scrivener Antonio de Osejo y Vasquez to prison. 11 342 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS He was the cause of conflict between the royal audiencia and Archbishop Francisco de Cuesta because he had sought refuge within the sanctuary of the Cathedral, talcing along some official papers. The magistrate Torralba, with his associate justice Jose Correa, sent a royal proviso to the archbishop, reclaiming the person of Osejo. The cathedral chapter, the University of Santo Tomas and the religious orders suggested to ignore the summons. At the same time, Archbishop Cuesta served notice of these abuses before the governor, although without results. He followed it up by sending the doctoral and a prebendary to Torralba, to manifest a warning to desist from violating canonical procedure. This served no other purpose than to incite Bustamante, on advice of Torralba, to clamp down the two ministers of Christ behind bars. A like fate befell two other priests sent to verify the imprisonment of the previous pair. And, third, the canon Luis Rico, sent to placate the feelings of the irate governor, found himself also in jail. In this situation, the prelate, adviced by the doctor, hesi tated no longer to proclaim en tablillar, i.e., to publicly pronounce as fallen into excommunication major for violation of ecclesiastical juris diction and persecution of the clergy, Torralba, the Sergeant-Major, and the Captain of the Guard. For his part, the governor, driven to the wall by this turn of events, ordered the taking of arms, preparing the artillery and guarnishing the guards by the city gates. When all was ready, he detailed a squad of soldiers to arrest the archbishop, who at that moment was surrounded by the outstanding ecclesiastics in Manila. Guarded by the soldiers, the eminent prisoner was first led to the governor’s palace, then to Fort Santiago. In this brief lapse of time, the prelate pronounced alia voce excommunication against those who had laid violent hands on him in his palace, placed the city under in terdict and ordained that, if within two hours, he was not freed together with five members of the cathedral chapter, he would impose the penalty of cessatio a divinis (suspension of sacred worship). This was the reason why, when the civil powers ordered the Pro visor to suspend the penalty and the latter refused to listen, he also was sent to jail. CHURCH HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 343 Meantime, Bustamante dispatched Torralba to hold talks with the archbishop, perhaps seeking to end the interdict, while the sergeantmajor was busy imprisoning the clergy who were around Cuesta at the time of the arrest. And now the populace, informed of this audacious move, mutinied. Led by some religious and swelled by escapees from prison and refugees of ecclesiastical sanctuary, they marched, shouting “Viva la iglesia, Viva el Rey.’’ They swarmed to the governor’s palace which they easily took, aided by the non-resistance of the guards. And, as Bustamante came out alone to meet the crowd, someone attacked him, leaving him seriously wounded, although with enough breath and life in him to receive from Fr. Diego Otazu, S.J., who happened to be nearby, absolution from his censures and the last aids of religion. His son, the sergeant-major, also died of wounds inflicted by the mutinous mob. The last act of this bloody drama consisted in the people’s refusing to lay down their arms until the archbishop, freed from his prison, pro mised to take charge of the government of the islands. He thus assumed control, though much against his will, after conferring on the case with both civil and ecclesiastical councils and the superiors of the religious orders.1 IV. Threat of Exile on an Archbishop (1873), On the death of Bishop Romualdo Jimeno of Cebu (1872), the Spanish government named, without cor\sultation with the Holy See, the priest Luis Alcala Zamora, a man of Jewish blood on his father’s and mother’s side, of doubtful orthodoxy and morals, and, says Fr. Pablo Pastells, “whose only merit consisted in having, as a delegate ‘ Fernando, Op. cit., fols. 349v-353v; Gomez Montanez, O.F.M., Felipe Jose Relacion de los acacMos en estas islas Filipinas el ano 1718 [tic], Ms in APSR, Seccion "Historia civil de Filipinas,” Tomo 2, documento 14, fols. 41-46; Anonimo, X’oticia vCridica de lo sticedido en la ciudad de Manila el 11 de octubre de 1719, Ms in loc. eit., fols. 33-39; Expediente sobre la niuerte del gobernador Don Fernando Bustillo Bustamante y demas sucesos del mcs octubre de 1719, Ms in loc. cit., documento 15, fols. 435-452; Blair and Robert son, “The Government and Death of Bustamante,” XL1V, 148-195. 344 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS to the constituent cortes in Madrid, voted for the iniquitous laws favor ing freedom of worship, civil marriage and others similar to them.”8 When Zamora arrived at Manila, the governor of the Philippines signed the cumplase of the Royal Order which legalized such a usurpa tion of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, without previously investigating the metropolitan government about difficulties that could come up if Zamora were allowed to assume the government and administration of the dios Mision de la Com pania de Jesus en Filipinas en el siglo XIX (Barce lona, Tip y Lib. editorial Barcelonesa, S.A.. 1916) I, 128. 0 Fonseca, Joaquin, O.P., Memo-ria capitular de 1871 a 1874, Ms in APSR, Seccion “Cronicas,” Tomo 1, documento 2, p. 44. In these circumstances, Izquierdo offered his resignation and Don Juan Alaminos y Vivar took possession of the government of the Philippines (January, 1873). Alcala Zamora knew Alaminos enter tained more advanced ideas than Izquierdo and he took advantage of this change of governors to present before the new official a petition to take charge of the diocese of Cebu likewise. But Alaminos, know ing that the matter was still pending in Madrid, answered that for the moment he could effect nothing with regard to the plea, and that it was necessary to await an answer from the Spanish government. This apparently suited Zamora’s plans. According to rumors, Gover nor Alaminos received about this time a confidential telegram from Madrid, ordering him not to delay in putting Alcala Zamora in posses sion of his post, as well as the government of the bishopric of Cebu. It must be noted that Archbishop Meliton Martinez of Manila had called Rafael Izquierdo’s attention to the canonical illegality of such a nomination; perhaps because of this, the governors had consulted the Madrid government. As a matter of fact, the governor shortly for warded a communication to the prelate, ordering him to proceed immediately to invest Zamora with the government of Cebu diocese. Martinez demurred, giving reasons which completely militated against entrusting the administration of the diocese of Cebu to a subject “whose bad antecedents from the viewpoint of religion and doctrine were suf ficiently notorious, and prevented him from assuming any responsibility, government and jurisdiction in the Church and for the Church.”9 CHURCH HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES 345 In turn, not to disobey the definite orders from Madrid, Alaminos believed it was necessary to order the Intendante de Hacienda of the Philippines to occupy the temporal properties of the prelate and at the same time on 1 March 1873, sent him to tell the prelate to leave immediately for Spain, communicating likewise that he leave the ad ministration of the archdiocese to Francisco Gainza, Bishop of Caceres. Archbishop Martinez prepared to take ship for the motherland, but not before he had arranged for the government of the church, not according to the governor’s disposition but according to the laws of the church and the dictates of his conscience. Meanwhile, among the public of Manila a clamor of protest was rising against these develop ments, a clamor which induced the governor to adopt a more concilia tory attitude. Subsequently a meeting of provincials was convoked by Alaminos to look for a way out of this difficulty, and one of them suggested that he suspend the decree of exile and the confiscation of the archbishop’s goods. Martinez was to send by cable to Rome an account of this delicate situation. But this was just a dilatory measure, for by this time, the prelate had already received a letter from Antonelli, who, in the name of His Sanctity, wrote that he desist from conferring the government of the diocese of Cebu on Zamora. Fortunately, one of those changes of government and ministry which was characteristic of nineeenth-century Spain, occurred almost simultaneously with these happenings, and Alaminos found himself ac cordingly freed from carrying out a compromise inherited from the previous government. In vain Alcala Zamora still tried to continue the fight until just a little afterwards, he unexpectedly died, snipping off the thread of his hopes. 10 10 Fonseca, loc. cit., pp. 40-48; Cfr. APSR, Msf, Lcccion “Communicaciones oficiales,” Tomo 9 (Copiador 1), fols. 57, 162, Tomo 10 (Copiador II) fols. 91, 103. 346 BOLETIN ECLESIASTICO DE FILIPINAS THE FOURTH DAY You and Your Post-Cursillo by Guillermo Tejon, O.P. A Book: FOR PRIESTS (to talk to Cursillistas) FOR CURSILLISTAS (to know and live the Cursillo better) Write to: Guillermo Tejon, O.P. Santisimo Rosario Parish University of Santo Tomas Manila ”6.00 Fr. Guillermo Tejon’s article, “The Parish Cooper ative Credit Union, A Parochial Form of Apostolate of the Temporal Order,” originally published in this Bolethi' December 1969. Now Available at P.2~> a copy or P20.00 per hundred copies at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Cooperative Cre dit Union, Inc., Parish Rectory, UST, Manila. VKRAUT ART GLASS'neon 879 BlILIBID VIEJO • MANILA • TEL. 47-39-23