with due submission, giving information that is reliable,
and derived from experience, of the injuries both
to the public and to individuals which this commonwealth,
and we the religious of the Order of our father St.
Augustine, are suffering from the presence of Don Fray
Miguel de Venavides, archbishop of this archiepiscopal
see—who, we believe, should be occupying
a cell in some convent of his order in exemplary and
peaceful life, as he did before he rose to the position
of bishop and to the dignity which today he holds.
In that position, [1] either because he wishes to
assume more authority in the [ecclesiastical] government
than is his due, or on account of some grave scruples
which, continually increasing, so harass and disquiet
him that were not the valor and prudence of Don Pedro
de Acuna, governor of these islands, so great, and
the royal Audiencia which your Majesty has here composed
of councillors so wise, Christian, and moderate, fear
would often have arisen (and with good cause) of various
scandals for which the said prelate has given occasion.
For with his revelations and prophecies, of which
your Majesty has been informed, he publicly stated
that the Chinese were about to rebel, from which it
resulted that poor soldiers, and other persons who
belong to peoples that resort here, were eager for
such an opportunity; and it is believed that the cowardly
Chinese were thus led to mutiny and rebellion, putting
this whole land in danger. All this arose from
the fears of the archbishop, which were not communicated
to the person who could, without exciting comment,
have taken precautions and prevented the trouble—namely,
the governor, with whom he has usually had collisions.
These were principally in matters concerning the royal
patronage, which loses footing out here; [such conduct
is therefore] the less to be tolerated. Your Majesty
will have heard long ago of some ill result, for the
governor has tried to manage the archbishop with due
gentleness, treating him with respect, giving him
a wide range in affairs, and temporizing with him in
order to avoid contention. During his sicknesses,
which are frequent, the governor has entertained him
as a guest in his own house, keeping him there a long
time. This has been of so little use that he takes
every opportunity to disturb, and sometimes without
opportunity disturbs, the general peace—at
which all of us, not only ecclesiastics but laymen,
are so distressed that there is no way of expressing
it to your Majesty. We believe that if it were
possible for you in Espana to see how we suffer here,
your Majesty would immediately remedy it; for we are
led to think that you do not realize the trouble which
this matter is causing, or else that it is one which
is not to be discussed as it should be, on account
of the archbishop’s many scruples. As a
result, the condition of affairs is intolerable, which
is a most unfortunate thing and one of great importance.
Accordingly, as he is a prelate and we are religious,
we are writing to your Majesty’s Grandeur; and
we make these statements with great circumspection,
that it may not seem as if passion were carrying us
away.