known in this community),
they caused to preach the second Sunday in Advent. He read a bull
in the pulpit, which was said to be by Pius Fifth, and which was in
Romance. Therein the pontiff orders that he who should prevent the
exercise of the Holy Office should be infamous and incapacitated
from office, etc. That he declared in such a tone and manner that
it was clearly seen that it was all for the governor, and that he
was censuring me as infamous. In order that your Majesty may see the
license of the friars in this country, and how they treat those who
exercise this office--and this under protection of the Inquisition,
hiding under the authority of so holy a tribunal, to avenge their
passions in things which, truly, neither belong to the Inquisition
nor are at all connected with it--in that same sermon, innumerable
other things and satires were uttered against me and against the
royal Audiencia for having declared, contrary to the pleasure of the
friars, that the judge-conservator was not employing fuerza against
the fathers of the Society, censuring them as heretics; and against
the judge-conservator himself, calling him a canon of London. They
have made use of this style of preaching in many sermons throughout
this time. The Recollect fathers of St. Augustine imitated him, and
I am told that this is no new thing; for whatever the governors do
that is displeasing to them they immediately take into the pulpits,
thus making the pulpit the professorship of vengeance, while it
is the seat of Christ for the preaching of His holy word. The
disorder that has always existed in this regard is very great, and
the matter demands an efficacious remedy. What occurs to me is, for
your Majesty to send a decree to the governor, ordering that, when the
said orders preach in this manner, he shall advise their provincial,
so that the latter may deprive them of the privilege of preaching,
and exile them from Manila to whatever place shall be deemed best;
and that, if the provincial shall not do so, then your Majesty should
immediately take away the temporalities from all of such order,
and should order the royal officials not to pay them anything, not
even the stipends for the instruction. For that nothing more should
be necessary than for the governor to order it. That decree should
be sent, but with restrictions, so that it may be a check on them;
for your Majesty has sent many decrees to the provincials, charging
them not to preach