VENEZUELA
332
VENEZUELA
youth. It now has a considerable establishment at
Caracas, a college at Valencia, and one at Maracaibo.
Its members have rendered devoted service in the sal-
vation of souls. In 1899 the Augustinian Recollects
came to Venezuela; their ministrations have been
utiUzed by the bishops in parochial work. They are
employed in the Archdiocese of Caracas and the Dio-
ceses of Guayana and Zulia. In 1903, at the invita-
tion of the Government, the Sons of Mary Immacu-
late estabhshed themselves at Caracas, where they are
known as the French Fathers. There they conduct a
magnificent college and at the same time afford valu-
able assistance to the clergy of the capital in the care
of souls. Lastly, in the same year, 1903, the Domini-
can Fathers, also under government protection, took
possession of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
at Caracas. They are gaining more and more in the
esteem of society at large and the appreciation of the
metropolitan. Certain members of their community
are now engaged in teaching in the seminary of
Caracas.
All these elements of rehgious progress, although the numbers of the communities have been small in each case, have entered Venezuela in sjiite of the ex- istence of special laws against them and in virtue of the religious liberty guaranteed to Venezuelans. Cer- tain it is that, owing to that mistrust of Catholicism which in these days disturbs the judgment of poli- ticians throughout the world, the last two Constitu- tions adopted in this country embody restrictions which may be considered invidious to the Church and which, given the occasion, could be used as a weapon against her; at the same time, these restric- tions might very well serve to protect her in view of the peculiar way in which power is exercised in the RepubUc of Venezuela. One most important com- pensation made to the Church by the Government was the legal re-estabhshment of the seminaries in virtue of an executi\-e order of Genera! Cipriano Cas- tro, issued 28 September, 1900. These institutions now no longer lead the diminishedexistence that was formerly theirs. That of Caracas, known as the Metropolitan, is divided into a great and a little sem- inary; the Government contributes to its support, and its professorships of ecclesiastical science have the official character oi cdtedras universitarias. The Dio- ceses of Merida and Barquisimeto also possess semi- naries with lesser academic privileges, and one is now being organized in the Diocese of Zulia. These foundations encourage fair hopes for the future, even though the number of students be small owing to the paucity of genuine vocations in the scanty population.
A large proportion of the secular clergy of Ven- ezuela conscientiously discharge the duties of their ministry, labouring to foster pietj', teaching the Cate- chism, and performing other parochial offices. Nor must it be overlooked that in the last ten years very efficacious efforts have been made by worthy priests for the Catholic revival in the fatherland. It is a lamentable fact, indeed, that, whether through the shortcomings of individuals, melancholy relaxations of discipline, or other internal troubles, deficiencies are still evident. Certain co-operative enterprises — for the instruction of youth, for propaganda through the Press, for the warfare against particular vices, and other activities of equal importance — are still awaiting their hour in Venezuela. As to religious in- struction in schools and colleges, the State, having assumed the burden of public education, making it gratuitous and obligatory, explicitly authorizes the teaching of religion in elementary schools. Principals of colleges, on their part, anxious that tlieir establish- ments, most of them excellent centres of mental culture, should also be in good esteem among Catho- lics, are almost invariably attentive to the duty of giving their pupils religious instruction and making
them fulfil their religious obligations, and at the same
time of fostering piety among them.
In the religious conditions, and consequently the progress of social culture, tlu-oughout vast tracts of the national territory, much is lacking. In all parts of the country the Faith exists, but daily life does not always correspond with behef. This is due to the constraints which the government places U])on the free exercise of the Church's activities. It must be taken into account that the religious institutes, for this reason, and on account of the fewness of their subjects, exercise their activities only with great difficulty in the capital and in some other important centres of population. Alcoholism, sensuahty, and gambling are the predominant vices: it must be admitted, too, that peculation and other political abuses have greatly helped to pervert the moral sense of Venezuelan society. Of the 2,713,703 inhabitants only 3361 are Protestants and 247 Jews. In Guay- ana and Goajira there are still remnants of the aborig- inal tribes, a total of 98,932 souls for whose evangeli- zation it has not been possible to do very much up to the present time, notwithstanding the efforts of the Government. During the last few years, owing to a misinterpretation of the law of freedom of worship, the Protestants have begim to spread their doctrines among the people, but the Government, by a recent decree, 24 October, 1911, put a stop to this propaganda by designating exactly the limits within which, accord- ing to the Constitution, representatives of other religions may exercise their ministerial functions.
The archdiocese (see Caracas) has a numerous chapter and eighty-two parishes, besides twenty-two affihated churches and private chapels. It has two seminaries, a great and a little. There are 35 male rehgious, taking all the regular institutes together. The congregations of women aggregate 242 sisters. The present archbishop (1911) is Mgr. Juan Bautista Castro, whose zeal has always manifested itself in the defence of the Church, and especially as an apostle of the Divine Eucharist, for the adoration of which he has consecrated at Caracas the sanctuary of the Santa Capilla, where perpetual homage is rendered to the Blessed Sacrament with daily Exposition. He is the founder of the Congregation of Servants of the Most Holy Sacrament. It is in this part of Venezuela that the religious movement is most intense. The admin- istration of this Church, as of most of the Venezuelan Churches, was formerly regulated by the synodal constitutions enacted at Caracas in 1687; at present all the dioceses are governed under the Pastoral Instruction promulgated by the Venezuelan episco- pate in the Conference of 23 May to 27 July, 1904. This Instruction is based upon the decrees of the Plenary Council of Latin America. It is signed by Juan Bautista Castro, Archbishop of Caracas, and Antonio Maria Durdn, Antonio Ram6n Silva, Felipe Neri Sendrea, and Francisco Marvez, Bishops respec- tively of Guayana, Merida, Calabozo, and Zulia; Aguedo Fehpe Alvarado, at that time vicar capitular, now Bishop, of Barquisimeto, also assisted at the conferences. The Catholic Press has flourished at Caracas, even though, in the existing conditions of the country, it has ne^•or been materially iMosperous; it is represented by licriodicals which defend the inter- ests of (he Church with boldness. The present most fully authorized organ is "La Religi6n", which has existed for twenty years; the "Hcraldo Cath61ico", a weekly, exercises a very salutai'y influence, as well as several monthly reviews of a devotional character, — such as the " Mensajero Venezolano del Coraz6n de Jesiis", "El Santisinio Sacramento" — and periodicals published by religious houses — such as the "Boletin del Pan de San Ant onio ". The " Boletin Ecle.sidstico de la -Vrquidiocesis" is a model of its kind. Mention should here be made of the Eucharist ic Congress, to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
