within his diocese but for the interference of the king.[1] One of the greatest grievances which the regular orders complained of was the refusal of the archbishop and bishops to ordain members of their orders. Efficient priests were becoming scarce in the religious orders, and aged men, whose mental faculties and physical strength were unequal to the task, had almost exclusive charge of Indian conversion. The provincials of the orders brought their complaints before the crown, which expressed its displeasure to the secular prelates and ordered the ordination of friars when required, except such as were mestizos or persons who should not be considered suitable.[2] Nor was this last prohibition unnecessary. Although as a body the friars were exemplary in their moral conduct, there were unfortunately among their number members whose behavior brought opprobrium upon the orders and required efficacious treatment.[3]
Another ground of complaint on the part of the
- ↑ A royal cédula of July 11, 1562, directed the bishop not to molest the Augustinians in the possession of their convents. Beaumont, Crón. Mich., v. 469-71, 521, 574-89.
- ↑ In 1555 the king forbade the indiscriminate ordaining of Spaniards and half-breeds. Puga, Cedulario, 153, 190; Romero, Not. Mich., in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, viii. 540, states that Pablo Caltzontzin, a son of the last king of Michoacan, was the first Indian who received sacred orders in Mexico.
- ↑ Yet it was deemed expedient, for the honor of the church, that reprimands or punishments of offenders of the cloth should be secretly inflicted, so that not even the Spaniards should know of them. This had been recommended by Martin Cortés in 1563. The king went further in 1565, for by his cédula of June 6th, received the next year in Mexico, it was ordered that the regular orders should be respected, and the investigation and punishment of their offences, unless they had been committed with great publicity and scandal, be left to their own prelates; and only in the event of the latter refusing to heed the complaint of the royal judicial authorities should the cases be sent to the crown. Cortés, Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., iv. 457; Recop. Ind., i. 123; Gonzalez Dávila, Teatro Ecles., i. 36; Zamora, Bib. Leg. Ult., v. 332; Beaumont, Crón. Mich., v. 569-78. The archbishop, Moya, at a later date, furnished the crown with a list of the clergymen of all ranks existing in his diocese, accompanied with a memorandum of the qualifications, character, and conduct of each. Some of them were set down as unworthy of the priesthood for immorality, misbehavior, or ignorance; others were praised. A number were natives of Mexico, even among the dignitaries, canons, and stipendiaries of the crown. There were then 3 dignitaries, 10 canons, 6 full stipendiaries, and one who received only a half ration. Moya y Contreras, in Cartas de Indias, 195-218. In 1588 archbishops and bishops of the Indies were permitted to ordain as priests mestizos residing in their respective dioceses and having a moral character and education. Women of the same class, of approved moral conduct, were allowed to enter as nuns.
