The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

PART V: FOREIGN MISSIONARIES

CHAPTER X
UNLOCKING THE FORBIDDEN BOOK
During Spanish times the Roman priesthood never permitted the Bible to fall into the hands of the laity, if there
was any way to prevent it. They spread the impression,
and sometimes said plainly, that it was a "bad book." The
Catholic who concealed and furtively read a Bible was haunted
by the dread that he might be forfeiting the salvation of
his immortal soul.
The clergy knew better than this, but they also knew that
the Scriptures in the hands of laymen were dangerous to
autocracy. They were "safe" only when taught orally "with
copious explanations." This was not mere theory-they had
learned it by bitter experience. And so, to all the other burdens of the friars, was added an endless vigil to prevent their
parishioners from seeing the source book of Christian faith!
Here was-and is-the weakest point in the Roman Catholic
system. It cannot survive the white light of modern education-as the Vatican well knows-and a complete reversal of
policy began this century. By a curious coincidence, America
took the Philippines, and the Papacy reversed its opinion
about the Bible in the same year, 1898, when Pope Leo XIII
offered plenary indulgence to those who would practice a daily
reading of the Scriptures. In I9I4 Pope Pius X reiterated
this offer in even stronger terms. The Church in the Philippines is lagging behind the Pope, and is doing next to nothing
to disseminate Bibles even to this day. That in a quarter of
a century a large part of the friars have so changed that they
will even permit the reading of the Bible at all is cause for
gratitude; it was so few decades ago that the owner of
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