Iglesia en América Latina (siglos XVI–XVIII): Continuidad y renovación (review)

Through an analysis of selected topics, Elisa Luque aims to highlight the two central themes of her history: continuity and renovation in the Latin American colonial church. This is a collection of previously published articles on certain key themes: evangelization and reform as seen from the perspective of church councils, bishops, religious orders, and catechisms. The first part of the book deals with the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: the evangelizing efforts of the religious orders, especially the mendicants; catechisms; church councils (especially the Third Provincial Council of Mexico, 1585); internal debates on special issues such as women, mestizos, and Indians; and the justification for war against the northern tribes. The second part deals exclusively with reformist measures in the eighteenth century: church councils and synods in Mexico and Charcas, the education of the Indians, and the question of an indigenous clergy. Finally, the author gives special treatment to the confraternities (Our Lady of Aránzazu) of the Basques in Mexico and Lima.

Given the emphasis on special topics, this is not a general history. Rather, it is intended for readers with some background on Latin American church history. Absent are certain other key themes such as Las Casas and his struggle, the missions, and Jesuit history in general. The Jesuits are mentioned briefly in the context of the Mexican church, but then they only appear again as the subject of debate after their expulsion. The work of the mendicants in Mexico receives special emphasis, but little treatment is accorded Peru and the rest of Latin America.

These limitations notwithstanding, the author provides interesting insights into the differing mindsets of the sixteenth-century evangelizers, ranging from the optimism of the first friars to the apocalyptic pessimism of Jerónimo de Mendieta at the end of the century. In her treatment of church councils, the author highlights the influence of similar councils in Spain. In her analysis of eighteenth-century church councils, the author also emphasizes the fact that both the Crown and the American reformers pushed for reform, but each had fundamentally differing objectives. The Crown wanted reform largely to increase its control over the Church. But the Americans (which included Spaniards with years of experience in the New World) envisioned the restoration of the primitive Church, reinforced by sixteenth-century Christian humanism. Bourbon regalism was especially evident in King Charles III's heavy-handed attempt to impose his Tomo Regio on church councils in Mexico and Lima. The Tomo Regio condemned all doctrines and ideas associated with the recently expelled Jesuits, especially the doctrine of probabilism. But in America there was some limited resistance to royal pressures. The Lima council of 1772–73 refused to condemn the so-called Jesuit doctrines, and in turn the Crown simply shelved the council's decisions. Another church meeting that the author develops at length, the Synod of Charcas (1770–73), placed great emphasis on reforming the clergy.

In short, although this is not a general history of the Latin American colonial church, as the title may suggest, the reader nonetheless will find the author's analysis of certain facets of that history, especially the church councils, quite insightful.