Note 12 — THE FRIAR MEMORIAL OF 1898

But they know that our banner is none other than the Syllabus of the great pontiff, Pius IX,12 which has been so often confirmed by Leo XIII, in which all rebellion against legitimate authorities is so vigorously condemned. They know that, as lovers of the only true liberty—Christian liberty—we would rather die than consent, in whatever pertains to us, to the least lack of the purity of the infallible Catholic teachings, of the holiness of Christian customs, and of the most complete loyalty due the Spanish nation. Consequently, they hate us; consequently, veiled under divers names and with divers pretexts, they are making so cruel war upon us, that one would believe that the masons and filibusters have no other enemies in Filipinas than the religious corporations. In such wise does that honor us that we can very well say with the prince of the apostles: “If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed: for that which is of the honor, glory, and power of God, and that which is his spirit resteth upon you (1 Peter iv, 14).”13