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John J. Wynne is pleased with the appointment of McDonough to the Manila Bench and feels that the issue of church property in the Philippines is being settled satisfactorily.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-02-01
Secretary of State Hay encloses a letter from Archbishop Placide Louis Chapelle regarding his opinion on the state of affairs in Puerto Rico.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-22
Governor Taft is working towards finding a land settlement with the Catholic Church in the Philippines, which has been complicated by the success of a schismatic independent Filipino church. Taft thanks President Roosevelt for allowing him to remain as Governor of the Philippines and apologizes for any embarrassment that was caused when the President had to find a new appointee for the Supreme Court.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-27
Archbishop Chapelle discusses the question of church property in Puerto Rico.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-17
Sebastian Gebhard Messmer supports the administration but newspaper reports make him out to be an enemy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-05
Father Vattmann encloses a letter from Bishop Messmer for President Roosevelt to read. Vattmann would like to note Messmer’s changing view on Philippine policy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-08
Governor Taft lays out guidelines on the separation of church and state for Filipino officials, especially regarding property disputes between the Catholic Church and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-10
T. B. Connery suggests that President Roosevelt request that John L. Spalding be appointed by the Pope to the see of Chicago. Roosevelt previously appointed Spalding to the Coal Strike Commission. Connery believes that Pope Leo XIII would grant the request, as he did when American politicians recommended Dr. Burke as Bishop of Albany.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-28
Amasa Pierce Thornton is organizing an effort to Americanize the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that the Vatican will find acceptable. He wants an audience with Secretary of War Root and Archbishop Ireland. He wants an agreement that is acceptable to Root, Governor of the Philippines William H. Taft, the Vatican, and President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-30
Senator Platt agrees with Archbishop Ireland that Judge John F. Tracy should be appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Ireland believes that a Roman Catholic should be appointed to this position, and Platt agrees. He also believes that Tracy is a competent choice.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-19
Thomas J. Conaty, Rector of the Catholic University of America, thanks President Roosevelt for the appointment of Father McKeon to the Army Chaplaincy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-22
This series of communications discusses a dispute between the Catholic Church and the Philippine Independent Church over the right to perform mass at a church in Malabon. The Catholic bishop ordered that non-Catholics cannot observe the mass in this Catholic chapel. The priests refused to let the Philippine Independent Church perform the mass and withheld a sacred stone for the observance. Correspondence includes a lengthy piece of canon law regarding the ownership of public and private chapels or oratories.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-09
Series of communications, apparently a court exhibit, relating to a dispute over ordinances passed by the Municipal Council of Bacolod that might interfere with church affairs. The Bacolod council has passed laws that require all processions to get a permit before using city streets, that restrict the handling of corpses in churches, and that require spittoons and cleaning of churches. The Catholics believe that the ordinances have been passed to restrict their religious observances, but the Municipal Council argues that public safety and hygiene were the main concerns.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-11-15
Text includes a series of communications relating to a dispute over the rights to a church between Catholics and the Philippine Independent Church. There was an altercation at the church altar related to an attempt by a schismatic bishop, Gregorio Algapay, to take over the Catholic chapel. The police were called and two priests were arrested in this physical altercation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-11-26
Father Vattmann, an army chaplain, claims he has information differing from Catholic papers and conventions. Vattmann tells George B. Cortelyou that he would have wired Secretary of War Root if he had had a better acquaintance.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-11-30
Eugene A. Philbin would like President Roosevelt to know that Father Wynne has sent a circular letter to all the bishops informing them of the adjustments to the Filipino students matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-11-02
John J. Wynne is pleased that Judge Smith has been appointed to the Philippine Commission and thought that President Roosevelt reacted well to Catholic protests over the friar question. However, Wynne does not favor Roosevelt’s support of Freemasonry.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-11-07
Governor Taft discusses Filipino issues and politics. He discusses his decline of a place on the Supreme Court. He mentions the problem between the Roman Catholics and the Independent Filipino Catholic Church in regard to the ownership of church buildings. There is fear of a famine, so the government has bought some rice to support the people. Taft asks for a congressional appropriation of around $3 million for the purchase of cattle because of the loss of many cows. He is against the return of Apolinario Mabini, currently under arrest for insurrection. Taft discusses the possible appointment of Bowers with approval and President Roosevelt’s handling of the trusts. He fears the populists’ calls for destroying all trusts and moneyed interests, but sees the problem with the current setup.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-11-09
President Roosevelt has sent a commission to meet with the Vatican leadership and recently appointed several Catholics to his administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-10
Bishop O’Gorman is pleased that President Roosevelt is recovering from the accident that happened in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He congratulates Roosevelt on the settlement of the Anthracite Coal Strike and the appointment of Bishop Spaulding to the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission. Pope Leo XIII has had kind things to say about the American administration of the Philippines and hopes the nomination of Monsignor Giovanni Battista Guidi as apostolic delegate to the Philippines is pleasing to Roosevelt and Governor Taft.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-10-17