Note 5 — Present Condition of the Catholic Religion in Filipinas

This we believe is, in broad lines, the religious character of the Indians of Filipinas. Let us now see what has been said recently also in regard to this same point by another contemporaneous witness, with whom we almost entirely agree. Mr. Peyton, a Protestant bishop, said, when speaking of Catholicism in the Filipinas, at a meeting of the Protestant bishops of the Episcopal church held at St. Louis (United States), in the month of last October: “I found a magnificent church in every village. I was present at mass several times, and the churches were always full of natives—even when circumstances were unfavorable, because of the military occupation. There are almost no seats in those churches, while the services last—an hour, or an hour and a half. Never in my life have I observed more evident signs of profound devotion than in those there present. The men were kneeling, or prostrated before the altar; and the women were on their knees, or seated on the floor. No one went out of the church during the service, or talked to others. There is no spirit of sectarianism there. All have been instructed in the creed, in the formal prayers, in the ten commandments, and in the catechism. All have been baptized in infancy.5 I do not know whether there exists in this country a village so pure, moral, and devout as is the Filipino village.”