Early Jesuit challenges

The late Jesuit historian Fr. Jose Arcilla, in his preface to the six-volume ‘Jesuit Missionary Letters from Mindanao,’ wrote:

‘One of the problems the Jesuits to contend with was the strong influence of the Muslims. Being strategically located, they were a force to reckon with. Occupying the mouths of the river, they controlled riverine traffic and effectively barred the non-Muslim indigenous mountaineers from contact with the outside world. But in time, the missionaries realized that there were not as many Muslims as they had believed, nor were they all steeped in the Islamic faith. Also, a notable number of Muslim leaders later embraced Christianity and, along with them, their followers.’

Beyond these challenges, there were other hurdles the Jesuits had to endure.

Highhandedness, in some instances, was blamed on rough behavior of the tercio civil, the local police-military force. This conduct did not only take a heavy toll in the conversion efforts, it also instilled fear among those who earnestly believed in the sincerity of the priests and the truth about the religion they were preaching.

Accessibility was also another issue. Finding routes or opening new trails linking the hinterlands was difficult. Connecting interior hamlets to organized reductions in the lowlands was not easy because of fear that residing in the communities would make the tribesmen exposed to incursions. The lack of passable courses, in large measure, contributed to the failure of the missionaries to expand their missions in remote territories.

While many tribal leaders were cordial and welcoming to the clergy, the ethnic clashes of-ten ate up a good part of the clergy’s time. Mediation was a vital aspect of bringing rivals to the table and resolving their differences. Though the priests did not want to be dragged in the rivalry, they were willing to intercede when there was an opportunity. Given the prevailing confidence obtaining among tribes towards the missionaries, most of the conflicts were ended amicably.

Lack of priests to handle the pastoral care of visitas (outstations) created long-term ramifications. Given the active conversion put in place by the Jesuits in settlements they organized, which required them to cross from the eastern seaboard to the southwest region of Davao Gulf, the missions, in some cases, suffered depopulation. Converts who looked up to the clergy for support during their visits were prone to lose patience and got easily discouraged. A number of them would temporarily abandon the settlement and return to their hamlets for practical reasons.

For reductions established near the littoral regions and were accessible to the missionaries during fair weather, the rise in the number of inhabitants became palpable along the years. Apparently, the inspiration provided by the regular visits of the priests became a seal for settlers to invite other people to transfer their residences in the población.

Speaking of his experience, Fr. Mateo Gisbert, SJ, dubbed as the ‘apostle of the Bagobos,’ was lyrical in expressing the challenges he faced in convincing Bagobos to accept the Christian faith, in a letter to his Mission Superior:

‘I now realize that in this hot country there is need for even more heat. We need a heart on fire to overcome, with the heat and energy it emits, the sloth of these people, remove all the difficulties ahead, and destroy once and for all the pagan empire. We face here not merely an army, or a nation ranged on the battlefield. Much less is it a case of people so stupid as to remain unconquerable with the arms of Christian civilization, or so fierce as not to the preaching of the Gospel.’

This reminds us of a bromide by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): ‘All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully.’ (10)