the church during the philippine revolution

2. THE CHURCH DURING THE PHILIPPINE
REVOLUTION

3. 1. The Religious Causes of the Philippine
Revolution

4. • Freemasonry: anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish in
orientation, it sought to destroy the Spanish
domination of the Philippines through a campaign of
abuse against the Religious orders and the Church in
general, for these enjoyed great influence over the
people.

5. • The accusation: “In his individual rights, a
man there has not, as in other countries, the
assurance of being respected by the authorities
until delinquency is proven.

6. • A manifesto of 1888: a written petition,
subscribed by 810 signatures, demanding the exile
and immediate departure of Archbishop Payo, the
expulsion of the Friars, the secularization of the
parishes and the confiscation of the estates of the
religious orders.

7. • Moral decadence: the loss of respect for
the authorities both ecclesiastic and civil, the
weakening of the faith, secularization of the
Christian life.

8. • The presence of “harmful Spaniards”
considered as the “enlightened”, they showed
themselves indifferent if not out rightly anticlerical
in their religious attitudes … they led the simple
Filipino to despise the priest and to put the blame
on the priest as being the cause of the revolution.

9. • The secularization controversy: a struggle
against racial discrimination spearheaded by
Father Pedro Pelaez, which later on turned to
become a movement for the Filipinization of
the Church.

10. 2. The Charges Against the Religious
Orders

11. • Violations of chastity: to note also the truth
that in certain cases, evil-minded people have been
accustomed to accuse the parish priests of having
perpetrated certain crimes in order to satisfy
personal motives of revenge thus putting the latter
in a bad light before their superiors.

12. • The wealth of the friars: said to have been
accumulated within the period of three hundred
years (actually acquired by donation, purchase, or
public bidding extensive lands which at the time of
acquisition were wild and unproductive, but which
they had improved at great cost).

13. • The friar opposition to the teaching of
Spanish: the reasons behind the non-teaching of
Spanish - the lack of means and the necessary
personnel; the missionaries found it much easier to
learn the dialects themselves rather than for an
entire people to learn Spanish.

14. • The friar meddling in administrative functions:
The Religious Orders have for many years now lost
the necessary prestige and state of mind to be able
to intervene profitably in the political and
administrative functions which the law allows them
and abuse of which is confirmed through practice.

15. • The friars as teachers of the Filipinos in
the schools that they had founded for the
purpose: doing so, they were accused of
having kept the colony in ignorance in order to
perpetuate the Spanish rule!

16. • The Exposition of the superiors provincial: For
the religious superiors “the real cause of the
rebellion can be traced back to the government in
allowing the entrance of free-thought in the Islands
the dissemination of Masonic doctrines, which have
led to the lessening of respect for religion and for
Spain.

17. 3. The Church During the Philippine
Revolution

18. • Organizations were believed to directly
influence the period immediately before
the breakout of the Philippine Revolution
in 26 August 1898.

19. (A) The Asociacion Hispano-Filipina. Founded in
Barcelona, Spain sometime in July 1888 by Marcelo
H. del Pilar together with Mariano Ponce and in
connivance with Doroteo Cortes and his Comite de
propaganda, this aimed to start active propaganda
campaign for reforms and certain liberties for the
Filipinos.

20. (B) The Liga Filipina. Founded by Jose Rizal in 1892
upon his return to Manila and who tried to establish
it in the whole archipelago, the association sought
greater cultural progress of the country and later,
the independence of the Islands.

21. (C) The Katipunan. This was intended to be the
counterpart of the Liga Filipina, but with
members coming from the poor and the less
educated classes.

22. • Instigated by Marcelo del Pilar, the purpose
of the organizers of the Katipunan was to
form a powerful nucleus of fighters which,
at any given time, would raise the cry of
rebellion against Mother Spain.

23. • The Pact of Biak-na-Bato (20 December 1897) between
Governor Primo de Rivera and General Emilio
Aguinaldo temporarily ended the fight for
independence. Among the conditions presented by
General Aguinaldo was the expulsion of the friars, as
well as the secularization and amortization of their
properties. The religious orders agreed, “but only on
condition that the due arrangements were made with
the Holy See.

24. • The outbreak of the Spanish-American War
(25 April 1898) led to the defeat of the
Spanish Navy in the Battle of Manila Bay in
1 May 1898.

25. • The frantic effort of Fray Bernardino Nozaleda
and the other bishops as well as the provincials
of the religious orders to arouse pro-Spanish
sentiments among the remaining Filipinos still
under their influence was to no avail and did not
prevent the siege of Manila and its final fall into
the hands of the Americans (13 August 1898).

26. The Congress of Malolos (22 November 1898), after the
proclamation of independence in Kawit, Cavite (12 June 1898) by
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, risked to antagonize the clergy always
faithful to the Church with its amended article on the recognition of
the State of freedom and equality of all cults as well as the
separation of the Church and the State. The State recognizes the
freedom and equality of all cults, as well as the separation of the
Church and the State.” The separation between the Church and the
State was not easy; it was supposedly to take effect until the
independence of the Philippines was officially recognized.

27. 4. The Church During the Philippine-
American War

28. • With the outbreak of the Filipino-
American War (4 February 1897), the Church
once more found itself in the middle of the
war.

29. • In the course of the war against the
Spaniards. General Aguinaldo had ordered (24
May 1898) that the lives of the Spaniards “who
neither directly nor indirectly have contributed
in the taking up of arms” against the
revolutionaries be respected.

30. • In the middle of 1898, General Aguinaldo, as supposedly now Vice
Patron of the Philippines, had named the priest Gregorio Aglipay of the
Archdiocese of Manila as Military Vicar General. The latter, instead, having
obtained from Bishop Hevia Campomanes the permission make an
appointment, appointed the priest Eustaquio Gallardo as Vicar General of the
diocese of Nueva Segovia. Later, Fr. Gregorio Aglipay would be formally
excommunicated by Archbishop Nozaleda of Manila for usurping ecclesiastical
authority and jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Apolinario Mabini had issued a
proclamation “Organizacion del Clero Filipino” (October 1899), aiming to
provide bishops for the Philippine Church since he considered the Spanish
prelates having lost their sees with the collapse of the Spanish government.

31. • The exit of the Spaniards in the Philippines entailed
the end of the Patronato Real. Consequently, the Holy See
had to attend directly to the Church in the Philippines. For
this, it send Archbishop Placide L. Chapelle (1905) of New
Orleans as its representative in Manila, who was received
by the clergy and the Filipinos with much hope in their
favour (23 January 1900).

32. • Rome then appointed Archbishop Giovanni Battista
Guidi (1904) who arrived in Manila (17 November
1902) bringing with him the Apostolic Constitution
“Quae mari sinico” (promulgated in 8 December 1902)
and would convoke the first Council of Manila (1904).
Archbishop Ambrosio Agius OSB would be the third
apostolic delegate in Manila (6 February 1905) and
would see the celebration of the first Council of Manila
(1907).