O Arcebispo íntima os Missionários de Goa a sair de Malaca

This 1844 ecclesiastical letter, addressed to the British Government and copied to parties designated A° B. and the Metropolitan See (Metrópole), originates from João, Archbishop of Goa and Primate of the East, in response to a communication dated 12 December of the previous year. The document conce...

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Format: Documents
Language:Portuguese
Published: 1844
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Online Access:https://macau-legacy.usj.edu.mo/docs/PKDWTWM5/viewer_PKDWTWM5.html
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Summary:This 1844 ecclesiastical letter, addressed to the British Government and copied to parties designated A° B. and the Metropolitan See (Metrópole), originates from João, Archbishop of Goa and Primate of the East, in response to a communication dated 12 December of the previous year. The document concerns a jurisdictional dispute over the Diocese of Malacca, focusing on Mgr. Francisco Jones, its Governor, who has refused to comply with a papal decree of 3 January 1840 issued by the Apostolic Secretary declaring his incapacity. Jones asserts allegiance solely to the Ecclesiastical Authority of Goa, rejecting external directives. The Archbishop invokes the authority conferred by Papal Bulls of Confirmation—equivalent to those granted to his predecessors—to assert full metropolitan jurisdiction, including over Malacca, and explicitly rejects the validity or continued applicability of the Brief *Multa podere*, whether genuine or clandestinely obtained, arguing that it has been superseded by subsequent provisions. Reference is made to an Encyclical Bull affirming the suffragan bishops’ obligation to obey the Archbishop of Goa, further undermining claims based on the earlier Brief. The letter firmly opposes British governmental intervention in the appointment of the Apostolic Vicar of Angapura and ecclesiastical matters in Malacca, demanding withdrawal from such affairs and unimpeded exercise of ecclesiastical authority by the legitimate diocesan governor. Signed by Archbishop João and countersigned by Reverend Fathers Burgandetti and Beverel, the text underscores the Holy See’s jurisdictional claims within a colonial context, reflecting tensions between ecclesiastical authority and imperial administration in mid-19th century Portuguese ecclesiastical provinces in Asia.
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