Office of the Historian

File No. 831.404/14.

Minister McGoodwin to the Secretary of State.

No. 136.]
American Legation,
Caracas, May 6, 1914.

Sir: Acknowledging receipt of the Department’s telegram of April 16, instructing me to “express the interest of the Government of the United States in obtaining permission for American clergymen to exercise the ministry in the Republic of Venezuela and the introduction of this measure into the revised constitution”, I have the honor to report that I brought this matter to the personal attention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and of the Acting President, Dr. José Gil Fortoul, in conversation with them in their respective offices, and I enclose herewith copy of a response from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, together with translation, in duplicate.

Although Venezuela is a Catholic country, it has been many years since either the President or the Minister of the Interior, in whose ministry supervision over Catholic churches and clergymen is exercised, has been pro-Catholic in tendencies. There has been in effect in Venezuela since the organization of the Republic a statute known as the Law of Patronage (“Ley de Patronato”) which, as its name implies, accords to the Government authority to regulate the personnel of the bishops and other clergymen of the Catholic Church, their movements and general conduct. The theory of the law is that this privilege should be retained because Catholic churches derive a portion of their income from the Government. Every constitution adopted in Venezuela has made specific reference to the Law of Patronage as a modification of the article which grants religious liberty. Every effort was made by the authorities of the Federal District a few weeks ago to apply the law in question to the several Protestant missions in Caracas and La Guaira. But upon my representation to the Foreign Office that such supervision could not [Page 1103] apply in the case of religious organizations in this country maintained wholly by contributions from the United States of America, and without financial aid from the Government of Venezuela, authority was granted immediately by the Governor of the Federal District, through the Ministry of the Interior, for suspension of the attempt. This was followed by assurances from the Government of Venezuela to this Legation that the effort to apply the Law of Patronage to Protestant missions was based upon a misunderstanding of said law on the part of petty officials.

The theory of the authorities of Venezuela in invoking the Law of Patronage upon the entry and exit of Catholic priests is for protection against the movements of revolutionists disguised as such. For the same reason the Law of Patronage requires that Catholic priests shall be citizens of Venezuela.

There have been many efforts to secure the repeal of the Law of Patronage and especially to eliminate from the constitution any reference to it. A special effort toward this end is now being made by Monsignor Pietropaoli, Apostolic Delegate to this capital. In so far as concerns the exclusion from Venezuela of Catholic priests of the United States or any of its dependencies, I am confident prompt relief can be secured when the matter is brought to the attention of the Government.

I have [etc.]

Preston McGoodwin
.
[Inclosure—Translation.]

The Minister for Foreign Affairs to Minister McGoodwin.

Mr. Minister: I have had the honor to receive your excellency’s official communication No. 125 of the 22nd instant.

On acquainting myself with the import of said note and the cablegram addressed to the Legation by the Secretary of State of the United States, it is incumbent upon me to state, for your excellency’s information, that our fundamental charter guarantees religious liberty in accord with the law and at the same time vests in the Federal Executive supreme supervision over all cults established or which may be established in the country. By virtue of this provision said charter confers upon the Federal Executive the faculty of “permitting conditional entrance into the territory of the Republic of foreigners especially dedicated to the service of any cult or religion, whatever may be the order of hierarchy with which they are invested.”

It should be understood that the conferring by the constitution of these attributes upon the Executive is not intended to impair religious liberty but to safeguard order in the exercising of the outward cult, in accordance with the principles observed by the State in its relation to the churches. It is an administrative faculty, the exercise of which can not be interpreted as limiting religious guaranties, because, as is known, in addition to those of the Catholic cult, that of the majority, there exist other churches erected by permission of the Government, in which there is free exercise of the cult for which they are destined.

Your excellency will please take into account these observations, which convey precise intelligence of the constitutional provisions in the matter, in replying to the Secretary of State.

I avail [etc.]

Manuel Diaz Rodriguez
.