agans, in accordance with those already
despatched to the archbishop of Mexico and his suffragan bishops."]

The kingdom of Xapon is in such an upheaval, and the persecution
against Christians so bloody, that it seems rash for religious to go
there. However, those who go there from the orders, guided by the
spirit of the Lord, go clad as merchants, and go about at Manila
in the same way, some days before their passage, in order to have
the Japanese get to know them and take them for men who are going to
their country to trade. Any other method would be rash, as I say, if
they went openly as religious. Further, as Fray Luis Sotelo, of the
Order of St. Francis, tried to go with the name of bishop of Xapon,
delegate of the pope, and commissary-general (a thing prohibited by
your Majesty), and as the bulls for it have been detained by your royal
Council; and as your Council has declared that its opinion is that,
if there were an open door, there would be many things to consider
as to whether Fray Luis Sotelo should go [to Xapon], because of the
many reasons that constrain them to prevent his passage; therefore,
it is expedient for your Majesty to order that quickly; and that they
recall the said Sotelo and take him from these islands, so that he
may not go to Xapon. [_Marginal note_: "Have what was ordered in this
matter brought."]

Having to speak of the orders in particular, I feel obliged to inform
your Majesty of occurrences in this city between that of St. Dominic
and the Society. It was on an occasion of the death of a man in this
city by stabbing, who begged loudly for confession. It was not granted
to him, because a father of St. Dominic said that absolution ought
not to be given him, although the bystanders said that he had called
for confession. A father of the Society stating that absolution ought
to have been given him, there arose between the two orders a very
serious and violent controversy; for the Dominican fathers printed
certain conclusions, in which they declared that it was a rash idea,
and in practice a grave and sacrilegious offense to absolve one
who, only by the report of bystanders had begged for confession,
but was deprived of the power of speech. The fathers of the Society
of Jesus drew up other printed conclusions, in which they declared
that it was not a rash or sacrilegious idea but a very pious one to
absolve such a penitent. They persuaded the people and the orders
and so inflamed the contr