The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 36]

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THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. 36

Castilla. Since, then, the missions and doctrinas of
those islands are so apostolic, and the zeal of the
regulars in going there is expended only in the direction of promulgating the gospel among heathen, one
can easily infer how necessary it is that the regulars
be maintained there in the strict observance and spirit
with which they left Espafia. They fear, and with
great reason, that if that subjection be accepted the
regulars in those islands will relax, as has been experienced in the provinces where the orders have
bowed to that subjection, paying heed perchance
rather to not leaving the comforts of the fatherland
than to the observance of their rules. But since the
religious in the Filipinas Islands are not rooted in
their fatherlands, but on the contrary regard themselves as exiled therefrom, it is impossible for them
to return thither. Subject there to hardships and
sickness (for the climate of Filipinas is less favorable
and healthful to Europeans), they will not have the
difficulty in quitting their ministries that has been experienced in America - where, in order not to leave
their ministries, they have become subject, thus losing their positions; and they will not be willing that
the most religious and those most zealous for their
rules should at least keep away from the missions
and ministries of the Indians through the imposition
of that burden, and that no others should be found.
Consequently, with that subjection they desire again
to journey to parts so remote; so that in such case, in
those provinces which are today so religious, their
courage would grow less and that not without danger
to those ministries, which by their very nature demand zealous persons and those of a very superior
virtue.