p. 5 | Note and Comment

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 6, 1908

Note and Comment

Persecution in the Philippines

FROM time to time the world catches glimpses of the difficulties attending Protestant missionary work in the Philippines. The officials and priests of the church which has borne sway in the islands so long have never taken kindly to the advent of Protestant missionaries; but the spirit which these persons have manifested has given unmistakable evidence of the need of the true gospel in those islands. A cablegram from Manila to the Chicago Record-Herald of January 3, says:—

A number of native Protestants under Ricardo Alonzo, who had been ordained a Presbyterian preacher, were dedicating a new chapel, when they were attacked by a mob estimated to number three hundred and headed by Father Perez, brandishing a big pistol, and shouting, “Kill the Protestants!” The mob, armed with bolos, knives, and clubs, demolished the chapel, killed one man, and seriously injured eleven others. Father Perez and five of his followers, including three Santander councilmen, have been lodged in jail on the charge of manslaughter. Appeals are reaching the governor-general from both sides.

The Protestants demand protection for their constitutional religious rights, and

claim that numerous attempts have been made to assassinate Alonzo and other native Protestants, while even the American missionaries, they add, are subjected to abuse.

This is not unlike the spirit which is found in all countries where the Roman Church has had a dominating influence over the people. It was so in Mexico when the first missionaries went there from the United States. Churches were attacked by armed bands, and missionaries and converts killed or injured. In fact, that spirit is not essentially different from the spirit manifested in Spain and Portugal, where Protestant chapels are not allowed to be located on the principal streets, or to display any sign to indicate their character. It need hardly be said that such demonstrations partake in no degree of the essential spirit of Christianity, but ally themselves with the spirit and the demonstrations that make the work of the apostles difficult and dangerous.