Storia do Mogor 360: Bishop's Declaration.
Storia do Mogor (Irvine) 360
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Bishop's Declaration.
360.1
Dom Gaspar Affonço, by the grace of God and of the Holy Apostolic See Bishop of the city of San Thome of Mailāpur, and of the Council of his Majesty, et cetera. To all [246] those who shall see this our letter declaratory, salutation and peace for ever in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true healer of all men and their salvation. We make known that it is fitting to and incumbent upon our pastoral office to defend conscientiously our jurisdiction as Ordinary; and since Father Fra Esprit of Tours, Capuchin, has infringed it by publishing, without authority for so doing, certain decrees which the Sacred Congregation sent for presentation to us; also by proclaiming to the people on All Saints' Day that the fathers of the Society of Jesus were not the parochial priests of the Malabāris, over whom the cure and jurisdiction as parish priests had been given by us to the aforesaid Reverend Fathers under the authority conferred on us by the Sacred Canons and by the decrees of the Sacred Council of Trent, permitting us to found parishes, or divide those already founded, whenever we may judge it necessary for the welfare and instruction of our flock: we sent an admonishment full of gentleness to the reverend Capuchin fathers, to the end that they might desist and await a decision from Rome, and that if they did not desist we should take proceedings against them.
360.2
Seeing, then, the Father Fra Esprit of Tours declined to desist, but after issuing the three canonical monitions has cited anew, without any authority of a judge, or of the Sacred Congregation, the Reverend Father Guy Tachard of Pondicherry and those subject to him to appear in Rome: We declare the said Father Fra Esprit of Tours, Capuchin Superior of Pondicherry, to have incurred the excommunication in the Bull 'In Caena,' fulminated against those who interfere with and perturb a bishop's ordinary jurisdiction [247]; and we denounce the said father by public excommunication, as accursed at the hands of God Omnipotent, of the holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and of all the saints in the quire celestial. We separate the said excommunicated person from the communion of the faithful, and furthermore, under the same penalty of the greater excommunication, by the very act incurred, we ordain that no one give him water, fire, or other necessary, nor favour or aid him in anything where not required for the well-being of his eternal salvation, and in which we may have commanded to the contrary.
360.3
In order that it may come to the notice of everyone, and that none may allege ignorance, we ordain that these presents be sent to all places, where they shall be published by any priest to whom they may be consigned, under the same penalty, in the churches and the most public places in Pondicherry, and after publication they shall be fixed on the door of the church of the reverend fathers of the Society of Jesus, whence they may not be removed, under the same penalty of excommunication, without our express permission. We notify, also, to the persons to whom may belong obedience to these presents, that they shall thus observe them, preserve them, and obtain their complete carrying out and preservation. Given in San Thome under our sign and seal on the 27th November, 1706. I, Father Simon di Loyola, writer of the Episcopal and Ecclesiastical Office, have written this. (Signed) Dom Gaspar Affonço, Bishop of Meliapur. (Signed) Simon di Loyola.
360.4
Gentlemen, I have already shown you in my preceding letter what powers the Sacred Council of Trent and the Sacred Canons confer on the Lord Bishop of San Thomé. By your giving this a little consideration, you will see that His Most Illustrious Lordship has acted formally against the said decrees. I have also caused you to see in many passages that it was not without authority that we have published the decrees referred to. For the Lord Bishop gave the permission orally to the Reverend Father Michel Ange, and confirmed it in writing when we begged his Lordship to witness to the truth.
360.5
I have shown, in addition, that we are not perturbers, nor capable of taking away the jurisdiction of our Lord Bishops, knowing, as we do thoroughly well, by the grace of God, the veneration and respect that we ought to render to their holy persons. So true is this that, when we notified the said decrees of the Sacred Congregation to the Reverend Father Tachard, Jesuit, under the orders of my Lord Bishop of San Thomé, although he presented to us a finding and decision of the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Patriarch, promulgated at a time when our case was in the hands of the said Sacred Congregation, we said nothing. That decision was issued without our knowledge, and not notified to us for a period of two years. Finally, his Lordship himself caused it to be written to us, and he said it also with his own mouth that all the things done by the Lord Primate of Goa had been approved at the court of Rome, and all those done by the Lord Patriarch disapproved.
360.6
Up to the present time, gentlemen, it seems to me that we have never been disrespectful to the Lord Bishop of San Thomé, nor have we done the slightest possible act for which we could be reproved, much less anything for which we could be declared accursed and doubly accursed of God, et cetera. Now consider, for the rest, I beseech you, the way in which we bore ourselves when we learnt from the mouth of his Lordship that all the things done by the Lord Patriarch had been disallowed at the court of Rome; and finding that the decision given by his Excellency (the Patriarch) against us could no longer be any obstacle to the execution of the decrees, as the reverend Jesuit fathers had always pretended it was, Father Michel Ange paid a visit to the Lord Bishop, and prayed him to put into execution the decrees of the Sacred Congregation. He then found out that the bishop was in search of other reasons for dispensing with so doing. Therefore the next morning the father put in the annexed petition:
360.7
"Father Fra Laurent says that, for helping him to obtain justice, it is necessary that the decrees of the Sacred Congregation "de Propaganda Fide," issued about the Malabar parishioners of Pondicherry, should be published in Pondicherry, the question being in litigation, in order that he may establish at Rome the diligence that he has employed. To this what your Most Illustrious Lordship advanced when I presented my last request is no obstacle. Your Lordship said that the Sacred Congregation could not send missionaries to India without the consent of His Most Serene Majesty the King of Portugal. But your Lordship has already recognised His Most Christian Majesty [the King of France] as the patron of this cure [250] by sending to him this dispute for a decision, as is plain from his letter. Therefore I urge on your Lordship that you be pleased to allow kindly the publication in Pondicherry of the decrees of the Sacred Congregation "de Propaganda Fide," the same having been laid before your Lordship, and by your order notified in legal form to the reverend fathers of the Society of Jesus at Pondicherry. In case of refusal, petitioner hereby records a protest as proof of the diligence he has exercised in calling for the publication of the said decrees — "Pro qua gratia Deus," et cetera.
360.8
This petition placed his Lordship in a position of great embarrassment, owing to certain expressions which you will have observed in it, which are, however, the very ones used by his Lordship himself. He therefore replied that he could not pass an order on the above petition without being attacked by either the court of Portugal or the court of Rome; but we might publish the decrees in our church at Pondicherry. Father Michel Ange then retorted: 'Can we, then, publish the decrees in our church?' And his Lordship answered: 'Yes, you can; who can hinder?' If after such a permission his Lordship writes that the decrees were published without his leave and authority, finally inserting this statement in his Pastoral and Declaration, what do you think we can do when a bishop denies what he has said? Meanwhile, Father Michel Ange, reading in the pastoral of Monsignor what he could not believe when first told, wrote to his Lordship the following letter: Letter of the Reverend Father Michel Ange. 'Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Bishop,
360.9
'Your Most Illustrious Lordship will recollect that on September 28 last a petition was presented to you in the name of Father Fra Laurent, wherein you were begged to give him permission for the publication in the church at Pondicherry of the decrees of the Sacred Congregation, which permission [251] your Lordship declined to give in writing, but only orally, saying we might read them out in our church; and I repeated your Lordship's words, "They may then be read?" Your Most Illustrious Lordship said to me: "Who can hinder?" These are the very words heard twice from your mouth, and on which I relied. Since then Your Most Illustrious Lordship has forwarded a Pastoral which has been promulgated. This act has been done by your Lordship, I suppose, because you have repented of the oral permission that you gave me. Supposing, then, this to be correct, let your Lordship inscribe some order upon my last petition, which will enable me to carry out the wishes of your Lordship and obey them completely. As I see now that your Lordship means to prevent the carrying out of the said decrees by the issue of the said Pastoral, I have obeyed as was incumbent on me. But in order to seek for justice I have had a copy taken, and to obtain this justice I put in with this a petition, with a view to its being made over to me properly authenticated.'