Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/705

Rh discovery and possession, and the introduction of Christianity, followed by the building and endowment of churches, convents, and monasteries. To this were added the privileges conferred by popes Alexander VI. and Julius II., confirmed by later briefs of the holy see. The decision of the first ecclesiastical council of Mexico reserving patronage to the king was advanced as an additional reason. The prerogative was claimed as one to be forever held inalienable. No person or persons, ecclesiastical or secular, no church or monastery, was to use the patronage, except under the crown's authority, and severe penalties were provided against infringements of the royal privilege.

The nomination of archbishops and bishops and the bestowal of benefices in the Indies belonged exclusively to the crown, and were consequently confirmed without demur. The king became ipso facto the head of the church in America, and no bull, brief, or other order emanating from the holy see or its apostolic nuncios could be published or carried out without being first submitted to and passed by the council of the Indies. Repeated cédulas issued from 1644 to 1672 inclusive reiterated those orders, and enjoined viceroys, audiencias, governors, and other rulers to send back to the council of the Indies all documents