The Irish standard., 1900-11-24
The Much maigned Philippine Friars Again Bitterly
Attacked by Anglican Prelate
Logic of Bishop Potter, "Unpreudiced Observer
~ Practised WRITER Rdicuously Faulty
The Gotham Bgot Whose Faacies Are Clevery Exposed
is Asked Some Pertinent Questions

Abuses must be very bad indeed be-
fore the Pope will interfere to remedy
the least of them.
But the bishop thinks that Pope Gle
ment. XIV. ''by apostolic brief" ex-
PEELED the Jesuits (who were the
"least obnoxious" of the orders) from
the Philippines in 1868.
Therefore, abuses by the friars must
have been pretty bad in the Philip
pines.
The proposition is not devoid of ar
tistic beauty as it stands, but regret
to say that requirements of historical
accuracy will not allow it to stand as
the bishop puts it. For Bishop Pot
ter's information I am compelled to
cite the following historical facts,
which he will verify with ease in the
nearest encyclopedia.
Pope Clement XIV. could not have
expelled the Jesuits from the Philip
pines in 176S "by apostolic Tor any
other) BRIEF" for the good and suffi-
Gent reason that he was not Pope at
that time. He did not ascend the pom
tifical throne till 1869.
The order expelling the Jesuits from
the Philippines was issued Feb. p,
1767-not by Clement XIV, who was
then plain Cardinal Ganganelli, nor by
Clement KILL, who was then Pope,
but by Charles I'LL, who was then
King of Spain. The Jesuits had pre-
yiously been expelled from Portugal
Q759) and from France 1764, in both
cases by the civil authority. So far
from Clement XIII. having anything
to do with this action, he, in 1865, re-
confirmed the society in it's existence.
Furthermore, the Jesuits were. re-
called to the Philippines in 1852, not by
the then Pope Pius IX.), but by the
then governor, who asked their aid
for missionary work in the more saw
age parts of the archipelago. Their re-
turn was unaccompanied by any spec
ial restriction from the ecclesiastical
authorities. I believe the Jesuit prov
ince in Spain then contained but 600
members or so and only seven fathers
could be spared at the time.
To save Bishop Potter unnecessary
trouble, I may here state that Pope
Clement XIV. issued his bull, "Dom-
mos &C Redemption noster," dissolving
the Jesuit order-not expelling it from
anywhere-in 1913. The society was
re-established by Plus VII. in his bull,
"Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum," in
1914.
do not greatly blame Bishop Pot
ter for not being aware of these facts,
but it is little unfortunate for his ar
gument that they fit it so badly. l in
vite renewed contemplation of the
bishops second syllogism in the light
of the history have cited.
I must touch upon just one more
passage Of the bishops article. Con-
sidering the newly arisen duties of the
United States in the Philippines, he
says:
"And we must, therefore, courage
ously face such question as, for ex-
ample, What has the United States
to say to a pronunciamento like this?
"You must reject and condemn the
Masonic sect, so frequently rejected
and condemned by the Supreme Pom
tiffs.
"You must also reject and condemn
liberty of worship, liberty of the press,
liberty of though and other liberties
of perdition condemned and rejected
by the Pontiff.
'You must also reject and condemn
liberalism and also modern progress
and civilization as being false progress
and false civilization.
.'You must utterly ~bominate civil
marriage and regard it as pure con-
cubinage.
"You must also reject the interior
ence of the civil authorities in any &C.
clesiastical affairs, so much in vogue
nowadays"
take these instructions from late
iy published pamphlet in Manila. This
pamphlet was issued without duly ex-
pressed church authority until the or
gan of the Roman Catholic church in
Manila, Spanish newspaper called
Liberastus, admitted the fact that the
Jesuits had published it,.
| Let us briefly assume that the facts
as alleged above are true, viz, that
the Jesuits did issue a pamphlet in
which were contained admonitions
substantially as quoted by the bishop
and let US suppose further that the
said pamphlets were issued here in
New York City. What would the Unit