n charged with the care of souls, as over
the secular clergy. Serrano fortifies his position by various royal
decrees and papal bulls. These documents show that much laxity has
prevailed in selecting missionaries for the Indians, some of these
teachers not even knowing the language of the natives to whom they
minister; also that the friars claim even greater authority over
their parishioners than that exercised by the archbishop and bishops
in whose dioceses their missions are located. On June 20, 1622, the
archbishop begins his official visit in the parish of Dilao (near
Manila); and his edict announcing this calls upon the people of the
parish to bring to him any complaints or information that they may
have regarding any fault, illegal act, or neglect of duty in their
cura or parish priest. Fray Alonso de Valdemoro was then in charge
of the Dilao mission; refusing to obey the archbishop's commands,
he is excommunicated by the latter, and sentenced to imprisonment in
a monastery. But the Audiencia refuse to support the archbishop, who
accordingly writes a letter to the king complaining of the resistance
made by the friars. Felipe IV, in a decree dated August 14, 1622,
orders that the missions in the Philippines shall be subject to
the provisions of another decree (issued June 22 of the same year)
promulgated for the missions in Nueva Espana. This provides that
the same procedure be followed therein as in the missions of Peru;
that the missions remain in charge of the orders, but that hereafter
the religious be not placed in charge of missions; that they shall
be subject to the archbishop in matters pertaining to the churches
and the care of souls, but that anything relating to the personal
character of such priest shall be privately referred to his superior
in the order, who shall try and correct him.

An unsigned and undated document (1624?) gives an interesting account
of a conflict between the civil and religious authorities in Manila
over the question of a criminal's right to asylum in a church. It
is decided, at least for the time, in favor of the ecclesiastical
authorities.

At the death of Governor Fajardo (July 11, 1624) the Audiencia take
charge of the government. One of their first measures is to revoke
the grant made not long before by Fajardo of certain monopolies
to a seminary founded by him for educating Christian Japanese to
go as ordained missionaries to their own country. The members of
the Audienci