120 
Propaganda Fide 
Propaganda archives: “ Perche contengano molte querele contro i Gesuiti, 
capuccini, carmelitani, et altre religiosi, contro i Preti, contra i Governatori 
di quelle Provincie, e contr 0 i Med 1 superiori di qnelli Dominicani, accusati 
di poco zelo per le missioni, e se si publicassero sarebbero di poco honore alia 
religione, e di poco edificatione al mondo.” 6 The difficulty of regulating the 
relation of the members of the orders and the secular clergy was not light, 
while that of dealing with bishops within whose dioceses missionary work was 
carried on seemed at times almost insuperable. The fact, however, that the 
Propaganda proved able to deal successfully with these problems, soon gave 
it a commanding position in the hierarchy. 7 
While the field of the Propaganda’s labor was wherever unbelief existed, 
there were certain portions of the world which came to be particularly its own, 
and where it exercised special powers. Both the Americas fell under this cate¬ 
gory, although there was a distinction between those regions where episcopal 
government was fully organized under a friendly government, and where this 
was not the case. One of the first actions of the congregation was to divide 
the world into provinces and direct one of the nuncios to act as its representa¬ 
tive in each. To him of Spain, fell naturally Spanish America; to him of 
France, the French colonies; and to the nuncio at Brussels, England and 
Holland with their respective American possessions. 8 The business of the 
nuncio in this connection was not very laborious. He forwarded documents 
backwards and forwards, 9 attended to the questions arising between the Propa¬ 
ganda and the government to which he was accredited, directly, if they were not 
important, or through the interposition of the secretary of state, if they were, 
and occasionally saw to the execution of decrees. 10 
How the Propaganda secured its control over the Spanish American bishops 
is not quite clear. The king possessed the right of nomination, and the earlier 
system was that the names he selected should go through the regular diplo¬ 
matic channels. The bishoprics were not established on any special basis, and 
the ground for differentiation in treatment is not clear, as they were from 
the beginning part of the regular Spanish ecclesiastical system. Actually, how¬ 
ever, in later practice, such nominations, instead of going to the Congregation 
of the Consistory, went to the Propaganda, which prepared and circulated 
among the cardinals the “ proposition ”, and in the next consistory presented 
the name. 11 Once appointed, the bishops paid little attention to the Propaganda, 
whose connection with their selection was in fact only formal; but some de¬ 
gree of control was maintained through the granting of special privileges, or 
facoltd. These gave the recipient permission to perform certain functions not 
inherent to his position, but which properly belonged to the Roman authori¬ 
ties ; such as to give absolution from certain sins reserved ordinarily to the 
penitentiary, or to permit marriage within certain prohibited degrees of affin¬ 
ity, or to celebrate mass in unusual places. The Propaganda soon arranged 
certain classes of facoltd , including different combinations of privileges ap- 
6 Atti, 1673, May 8, no. 4. 
7 See series Cause, passim. 
8 Atti, vol. I., p. 3, Feb. 4, 1622. 
9 The missions in English America were, in fact, managed by the Vicar Apostolic in 
London. See Atti, 1756, p. 352, Jan. 25. 
10 The line of division was perhaps rather based upon whether the case was apt to 
complicate the general relationship of the papacy, than on its intrinsic importance. See, 
for instance, the negotiations with Franklin which were carried on directly by the 
Propaganda through the nuncio. 
11 See series Udienze, where the propositions appear. 
