Evening star., 1942-08-05
Missionary Heroes
Remain in Orient
Writer Expresses Confidence
In Survival Of Christianity
Despite Wartime Ordeal
By Thomas F. Doyle.

There are more than 1000 islands In
the Philippines, solitary outpost of Chris
tianity in teeming Orient. In Luzon,
largest of the 300 inhabited islands, is
the Philippine capital, Manila. Mainly
English speaking, the people of Manila
are Oriental in feature and tempera-
ment; but, spiritually, they are worlds
apart from the Japanese, whose armies
are now in possession of the islands.
The conquering Japanese, recognizing
this, and following a policy of appease-
ment and persuasion. brought with them
two japanese Catholic priests as token
of reinsurance to the $4,000 900 people of
the Philippines, 100000 of whom are
Catholics.
1t was wasted gesture. 1t meant
nothing to the Filipino and American
defenders in beleagured Bataan or to
Catholic and Protestant missionaries
taking refuge in the hills or carrying on
their work under japanese restriction.
Cut off from sources of supply and
lacking means of communication, mis-
sharing the poverty and hardship of the
natives, living on leaves, roots and wild
fruit.
Somewhere in the mountains of these
islands, wrote one American priest, we
have made our home and have remained,
by Gods grace, we'll and free.
1--WE see enemy planes and rejoice that
+l,n n ~ I,a1
one machine-gunning without casualty
We have no liking to hear those planes
coming zooming and then the weird
blot-blot-blot chatterng of the ma
chine guns. 1t tickles ones spine. From
the wound l saw in a 5-year- old boys
leg they do more than tickle when they
hit"
The high minded pretensions of ia
pans militarists, are viewed with grave
misgivings by the Filipinos. When jap
anese invasion threatened, panics broke
out among the lepers in the leprosarium
conducted by small group of Francis
can fathers on the Island of Cebu.
1t was feared that hundreds of the
afflicted would be dispersed among the
general population. Fears were height
ened when news spread that many had
already taken to the hills.
Their pastor, Irish-born Father Francis
O'Donnel, however trailed the fright
ened patients on foot and succeeded in
averting panic of another sort by in
ducing them to return to the shelter of
the leper hospital
At the fall of Manila. there were close
to 700 Catholic and Protestant mission
aries in the Philippines great many
are now interned or limited to the area
in which they are living; others have
the freedom of the city for their work
while still others have evacuated from
their stations and have gone into the
hills where they are developing new
rural projects.
Some $50 Jesuit missionaries are do
ing their best to cope with difficulties
created by the new order" in the islands
Besides Episcopalians, there are groups
Of Methodists Presbyterian. Seventh
Day Adventist and other Protestant mis-
sionaries, whose status is somewhat of a
mystery, but whose general attitude
seems to be to take what comes" and
stick by cir nocks.
Episcopal headquarters in New York
have had no direct word from Suffragan
Bishop Robert F. Wilmer since the end
of last December. Expected to have at
| tended his daughter 1sabels graduation
from William Smith College at Geneva
| N. Y, the bishop, instead, left what was
| then the safety of Manila immediately
after the outbreak of hostilities to make
a rapid survey Of the condition of work.
ers in Northern Luzon.
| He walked more than 100 miles anc
much of the time was in no-mans lane
between japanese and American lines
The bishop started in car which ht
abandoned when the roads became i'm.
passable, thumbed rides on army trucks
and hiked the rest Of the way Presum.
ably say his friends, he reached Banto,
safely and probably is still there.
Protestant missionaries, their worl
now severely curtailed, if not rendere,
impossible, by the japanese, have sue.
ceeded in winning ZOO 900 converts sine,
the American occupation of the island
in 1898.
But still occupying a pre-eminent DO.
sition among American missionaries IL
the Philippines is the Society OF Jesus
which does more missionary worl
throughout the world than any othel
Catholic order.
-Four blocks from Manila Bay is tn
Ateneo de Manila, inaugurated by tn
Jesuits in 1921 and today one of tn
best-known universities in the Orient
Styled the "West Point OF the Philip
pines" its ROTC graduates prove,
themselves valiant soldiers in the battl
of Luzon, among them being It. Cesa
Basa, who was cited for bravery by Ger
Douglas Macarthur.
Immediately after the outbreak of tn
war, period marked by the destruc
tive bombing Of Cavite and Pasay, tn
Ateneo and its grounds were throw
open as a refugee camp. Hourly, tn
Jesuit fathers went forth to remov
the wounded from the bombed areas
Over "a of the survivors of the S. s
Corregidor. which sank after strikin
a mine outside Manila Bay, were quar-
tered within the institution.
High commendation by military an