Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante Y Rueda - Relationship With The Church

Relationship With The Church

Several individuals with pending charges had taken church asylum. Bustamante adopted very stringent measures to counteract Archbishop Francisco de la Cuesta's excessive claims to immunity. The Archbishop was appealed to, to hand them over to the civil authorities, or allow them to be taken. He refused to do either, supporting the claim of immunity of sanctuary. At the same time it came to the knowledge of the Governor that a movement had been set on foot against him by those citizens who favoured the Archbishopʼs views. José Torralba, the late acting-Governor, was released from confinement by the Governor, and reinstated by him as judge in the Supreme Court, although he was under an accusation of embezzlement to the extent of ₱700,000. The Archbishop energetically opposed Torralba's appointment. He notified to Torralba his excommunication and ecclesiastical pains. Torralba, with his sword and shield in hand, expelled the Archbishopʼs messenger by force. Then, as judge in the Supreme Court, he hastened to avenge himself of his enemies by issuing warrants against them. They fled to Church asylum, and, with the moral support of the Archbishop, laughed at the.

Tensions climaxed when the governor’s soldiers stormed the Manila Cathedral, thereby violating the right of sanctuary. The violation was due to the governor’s orders to recover the government inventories and official records held by a notary public who was then taking refuge in the cathedral. Upon consultation by the Archbishop, the Dominican experts of canon law from the Real Universidad de Santo Tomas declared that “under no circumstances or conditions could civil authorities exercise jurisdiction within sacred places, even under the orders of the governor and of the audiencia.

The series of troubles with the ecclesiastics led to the arrest and imprisonment of the archbishop, the Dominican friars, and all other clerics involved with the Archbishop.