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BY HERBERT VEGO
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Thursday, March 2, 2017
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THIS month of March marks the 496th anniversary of the “discovery” of the Philippines by Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521.
That historical event reminds us of the ongoing conflict between the Philippine government and the Roman Catholic Church on the issues of extrajudicial killings and the proposed restoration of the death penalty law for heinous crimes. As every school child knows, the conflict began with the arrival of Magellan, a Portuguese sailor serving the king of Spain.
Figuratively, Magellan and his men beached on Mactan Island with a cross in one hand and a sword in the other. He preached Christianity to the natives who could not be dissuaded from worshipping anitos or the spirits of their dead ancestors. As a result, their chieftain Lapu-lapu fought and killed Magellan by the seashore.
However, it was not until 1565 that Spain, through conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, succeeded in colonizing the archipelago which would be known as the Philippines.
In his 1995 book Outcry for Change, the late Eugenio Galido of Sebaste, Antique chronicled a number of researched conflicts between the Spanish government and the Church.
As in Magellan’s time, Legaspi and his men also encountered hostile natives in Cebu, forcing them to move to Bohol, only to find native resistance against Christianity, too.
Guido de Lavezaris, who succeeded Legaspi as governor-general of Cebu in 1572, competed with his friar counterpart, Father Rada, for authority.
The first Bishop of Manila, Domingo de Salazar, had just assumed his post in 1581 when he publicly denounced the governor-general, Ronquillo de Penolosa, for wielding “too much power.”
In 1633, Governor-General Diego de Salcedo was not in good terms with Archbishop Pablo Poblete. When Poblete died, Salcedo forbade the tolling of the bells and the embalming of his remains. Enraged, the clergy convinced the powerful Inquisition to seize Salcedo and send him to Mexico to face charges.
In 1635, Governor-General Hurtado de Corcuera raided San Agustin Church in Manila to arrest a fugitive soldier suspected of murdering a girl. Archbishop Ramon Guerrero tried to intervene but in vain. Corcuera locked up not only the murder suspect but the archbishop, too, in Fort Santiago.
The clergy found the opportunity to avenge when Corcuera’s term ended in 1644. The friars found a sympathetic ear in his successor, a certain Fajardo, who had Corcuera jailed in Fort Santiago for five years – a case of the jailer becoming the jailed.
The government-friar clashes worsened in 1719 under the administration of Governor-General Fernando Manuel de Bustamante. Against the wishes of all religious orders, he squandered government money in rebuilding the fortifications in Zamboanga. He imprisoned people on the pretext of “conspiracy against me.” Having found a common ground for unity, the friars and hundreds of Filipinos mobbed Bustamante, killing him and his son.
To mend the church-state feud, Spain appointed an archbishop, Rojo Rojo, concurrent governor-general in 1762. However, he ruled for only a few weeks. He was succeeded by Simon de Anda.
When Anda returned to Spain for a courtesy call with the king, he denounced Rojo, the bishops and the friars in the Philippines for being more interested in money than in saving souls and in interfering with governmental functions.
In 1863, Archbishop Felipe Pardo refused to obey the royal decree of Governor-General Juan de Vargas, prompting the latter to go to court, the Royal Audiencia, which consequently sent the defying friar to Lingayen, Pangasinan for exile.
Change has come today: The players in the conflict are no longer Spaniards but fellow Filipinos./PN
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