The Washington times., 1903-12-20
OF FRIAR LANDS
SOLVES PHILIPPINE PROBLEM
Large Estates Will Fall Into the Hands of Small Farmers Will
Assume Same Position Toward Civil Rule United States

As a rule. the Government Of the
United States has little or nothing 70
do with religious societies or corpora
tons and their members The church
is so completely separated from the
state that it is difficult to imagine cases
in which the policy of church in the
selection of it's ministers and the as
signment of them to duty could be re-
garded as of political moment or as a
proper subject Of comment
In the pacification of the Philippines.
however. ii was impossible to ignore the
great part which that question played.
With the exception Of the Moros, who
are Moslems. and the wild tribes. who
are pagans, the Philippine people be
long TO the Roman Catholic Church
The total number of Catholics. as
shown by the church registry i'm 1898.
was 6,559S9S. TO care for them in that
year there were in the archipelago 7te
regular parishes. los mission parishes.
and 116 missions. or 967 in all. OF the
regular parishes. all but $50 were ad-
ministered by Spanish monks of the
Dominican, Augustinian. or Francisco
orders Natives were not admitted TO
these orders. There were two kinds OF
Augustinians in the Philippines. the
shod and the unshod The latter are
called Recolletos. and are merely an of
shoot from the original Order OF St.
Augustine.
Friars Driven Out
In the course of the revolution Of
1895 and 1888 against Spain. all the Do
minicans. Augustinians. Recolletos. ami
Franciscans acting as parish priests
were driven from their parishes TO take
In,
and 104 were imprisoned. and were not
all released until. by the advance of the
American troops. il became impossible
for the insurgents to retain them. OF
the 1.1S4 who were ~ the islands IN
1896. less than 500 remain The re-
mainder were killed or died. returned to
Spain. or went to China or South Amer
lea
There were also in the islands. engaged
in missions and missionary parishes.
torty-two Jesuits. sixteen Capuchlns
and SIX Benedictines. and while many
OF theSe lett their missions because Of
disturbed conditions they do not seem to
nave been assaulted or imprisoned for
any length of time.
In addition 10 the members of the
monastic orders, there were $50 native
secular clergy In charge Of small par
Ism IS who were not disturbed There
were also many native priests in the
curatcs. and they remained and have
been acting as parish priests.
Chief Political Question.
The burning political question. the dis
cussion OF which has agitated the Phil
ippines ever since the advent of the
American forces in the islands has been
whether the members of the four great
orders Of St. Dominic. st. Augustine. St
Francis. and the RecolIetos should re-
turn 10 the parishes from which they
had been expelled by the revolution
Colloquially. the term "friars' includes
only the members of these four orders
The Jesuits Capuchins Benedictines.
and the Paulists. OF whom there We're a
few. have done only mission work or
teaching. and did not arouse the hos
tility manifested against the four larger
orders
Soon after the arrival Of the Taft Com
mission in Manila. Archbishop ChapeIle.
OF New Orleans. apostolic delegate
called on the members OF the commits
sion and requested that in any investi.
cation into matter OF the friars which
the commission might deem wise to in
stltute the prOVincials Of the orders and
the flNe bishops. including the ArchbIsh-
OF OF Manila. all of them friars have a
hearing. Accordingly the comnissior,-
er to whom the subject was assie-,,.,d
was enabled by the courtesy and assist
ance OF Archbishop ChapeIle to take the
statements Of the provincials of all the
monastie orders resident in Manila and
OF the Archbishop OF Manila the BishoD
Of ViRan. and the Bishop Of Jaro Ths
Bishop OF Cebu had returned to his do
cese. and so. too. the episcopal admin
istrator or the diocese Of Nueva Caceres.