“… nothing bad happened …”: A 19th Century Letter from the Archbishop of Manila to the Cardinal of Toledo, Concerning the Sexual Abuse of an Indian Student

Abstract

A facsimile of a previously unpublished 19th century, archival letter from the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, to an unnamed Cardinal is presented, making it available for research. The letter reports the sexual abuse of an Indian student by a priest in two church-related contexts. The document is reproduced, translated, and its provenance described. Its significance for the study of the problem of sexual abuse by clergy is identified.