Note 12 — Chapter XVI

Don Pedro de Monroy had retired outside the walls of the city, as he had already left the office of provisor. The governor ordered that he be not allowed to enter the gates of the city. Consequently, when he deemed it advisable to enter Manila to see the archbishop, he had to disguise himself in the habit of St. Francis; and went to enter through the gate of Santo Domingo, with a religious who accompanied him. The commander recognized him, and, together with the rest of the soldiers, surrounded him and tried to take him to the governor, as they had an order for it. They would have accomplished this, had not some religious of the convent of St. Dominic come up, who, although maltreated by the soldiers, removed Don Pedro Monroy from that danger, and placed him in their convent. Matters daily continued to grow worse, for the governor neglected no occasion, nor left any rock unturned in order to annoy the archbishop—now taking as his instrument the judge-conservator (who was continuing to accumulate acts against the archbishop), now arousing new causes for controversy. However, he was impelled in all this by the suggestion of a third party, and of late by Don Andrés Arias Xirón, who was the secular priest most opposed to the archbishop—both in having prevented the archbishopric from being given to him, as we have already related, and because he was the close friend and helper of the conservator, Don Fabián Santillán. Another and still more recent cause was, that in the visitation that the archbishop was then making in the chapel of Nuestra Señora de Guía, where the said Don Andrés was acting as cura—in which the natives had deposed various charges against him; and on account of their verbal process, as it appeared that he had threatened them, the archbishop had ordered him by an act to leave his benefice within four and twenty hours, and to remain six leguas from it. Don Andrés Arias Xirón did not obey that order, and remained in Manila, where he had recourse to the royal Audiencia by a plea of fuerza, which was decided [to be such] by the only auditor, Don Marcos Zapata, who was not ignorant of the rules of the Council of Trent which forbid appeals in a trial arising from the visitation. On account of that decision of fuerza, the archbishop declared the auditor Zapata to be excommunicated; consequently, that official was also ready to work against the archbishop. All greatly blame that magistrate, because Don Sebastián de Corcuera found an aid and support in him. One would believe that the Holy Spirit talks with the governors and auditors of Filipinas more than with others, although these words and warnings are declared in the chapter of Wisdom: Discite judices finium terræ, prebete aures vos, qui continetis multitudines, et placetis vobis in turbis nationum; quoniam data est a Domino potestas vobis, el virtus ab Altissimo, qui interrogabit opera vestra, et cogitationes scrutabitur, quoniam cum essetis ministri regni illius, non recte judicastis, nec custodistis legem justitiæ, neque secundum voluntatem Dei ambulastis.12 Of such ministers and counselors, the holy king said that they who were confounded and ashamed should remove themselves far from him: Avertantur statim erubescentes, qui dicunt mihi, “Euge, euge!” (Psalm lxix). But He must have chosen on this occasion that the passion of the governor should regard the flattery of that magistrate as to his favor, in order to excuse his own conduct. It may be that his error was for lack of his understanding and not of his will; and to judge of that pertains to the Supreme Tribunal.