The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-16
OWNED BY THE PEOPLE
STATUS OF CHURCH PROPERTY IN
PORTO RICO AND PHILIPPINES.
Many Edifices Are Said to Have Been
Money Collected by Taxation.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.-At a meeting
of the National Christian Citizenship con-
vention letter was read from William
Henry ROBBERS, a prominent Presbyterian,
and secretary Of the Alliance of Reformed
Churches, on the subject of the church
property in our newly-acQuired possessions.
The letter says, in part:
I'm all these territories acquired as a re-
suit of the war with Spain there are large
church properties which have been under
the control hitherto of the Roman Catholic
Church as the established church of Spain
and her colonies These church properties
are claimed by the Roman Catholic authori-
ties, but to large extent with no show Of
right There doubtless are properties given
by will or direct personal donation under
the control of Roman Catholic Church au-
thorities in Porto Rico and the Philippines.
But, in addition to such properties, there
are other properties, especially church edi-
hceS, Which were paid for out of the public
FUNDS and maintained at the expense of the
Spanish government The latter are the
properties, not of the church, but of the
This is the fact in all countries where
there are established churches. Such
churches in Spain, France, England and
Germany are branches of the state, and
their ediices are erected and expenses paid,
the salaries of bishops and priests included,
out OF the puDUC taxes. III was because OF
this fact that when the South American re-
publics became Independent of Spain the
new rulers took possession of a very con-
siderable part of the church property. They
took the ground that the ownership of the
property was in the state and not in the
church. The same ground was taken in
England at the time of the reformatiOn.A
Westminster Abbey London, was once
q Roman Catholic place of worship, and is
now Protestant Episcopa! Church be-
cause the structure was paid for by the
money of the English nation and the own
ership was and is in the English people.
The ecclesiastical situation, therefore as 1t
lies in many minds, is this: The church
property in Porto Rico and the Philip
pines, being to a large extent the property
of the state. is not rightfuliy the property
States government, therefore, should take
possession of all church property, should
carefully determine what moiety of the
property actually belongs to the Roman
Catholic Church as such and retain the re-
mainder under it's control for the benefit OF
the peoples of the new territories.
II would not advocate that the United
of church property in the new territories,
selling the same at public sale and placing
the money in its own treasury, but do say
that the people of this new territory in
each of their cities and towns should have
opportunity to determine what use
should be made of these church edifices.
They were built by money forced from
government. and they are morally. and. l
think, legally the property of the inhabit-
ants Of these territories. Let there be Il
vote, for instance. in each OF the towns
and parishes of Porto Rico as to the dis
posal of the church edihces.