STAMPA MISSIONARIA.
I. THE MISSIONARY PRESS IN THE HOMELAND
The first printed missionary reports were naturally travel accounts and treatises on the legendary «Prester John» (v.), but missionaries soon also became the first geographers, ethnologists, and historians of the countries of their missions. It is sufficient to mention the Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del gran Regno de la China of Fr. Joan Gonzales de Mendoca (Rome 1585); the work of Nicola Trigault: De Christiana Expeditione Apud Sinas Suscepta, Ab Societate Jesu. ex P. Matthei Ricci eiusdem Societatis Comentariis Libri V. ABBADIA S. D. N. Paulum V (Augsburg 1616) and, among many others, the publications of Jeronimo Lobo S. J. on Ethiopia and of the Capuchin Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi on Angola and the Congo. Bernardino da Sahagün O. F. M., with his work in 12 vols., Historia universal de las cosas de Nueva España, on which he worked from 1547 to 1577, earned the honorary title of the greatest ethnographer of the sixteenth century. A historian of mission countries was, for example, the Jesuit MarinoMartini: De bello Tartarico Historia (Antwerp 1654). Fr. Roberto de Nobili is regarded as the initiator of modern investigations into Sanskrit. From the sixteenth century to the first half of the eighteenth, the times were most favorable for Catholic missionaries to make European and Asian culture known to each other and to defend the human rights of the indigenous peoples. It is sufficient to recall the activity Las Casas (v.).
The so-called Cartinhas, that is, small catechisms with a brief grammar and an introduction to reading, were intended directly for missionary practice. The most famous of these Cartinhas is the one compiled by João de Barros: Grammatica da lingua portuguesa com os mandamentos da santa madre Igreja (Lisbon 1539), which served St. Francis Xavier.
The polyglot printing press of Propaganda printed Cartinhas in Arabic and Ethiopian during the first half of the seventeenth century. In many editions and versions, the catechism of Luis de Granada was published: Breve Tratado en que se declara de la manera que se podrá proponer la doctrina de nuestra Santa Fe, y religión christiana, a los nuevos fieles (Salamanca 1588).
Among studies of missionary theory and methodology, the following should be recalled: Nicolao Herborn: Epitome convertendi gentes Iudiarum ad Fidem Christi adeoque ad Ecclesiam sacrosanctam catholicam et apostolicam (Cologne 1532); José de Acosta: De procuranda salute Iudorum, libri sex (Salamanca 1588). Protestant missiological theorists such as Fabricius, Hoornbeek, and Mel made extensive use of them. Tommaso di Gesù (v.) and Filippo Rovenio (v. ROVENIUS PHILIP) were also theorists.
The Jesuits deserve the credit for having created periodic missionary literature. In 1552, the Avisi particulari delle Iudie e di Portogallo ricevuti in questi doi anni del 1551 e 1552 da li Reverendi Padri de la copagnia de Jesu were published in Rome. In the following years, other missionary letters were published under the titles: Avisi della Cina, Avisi del Giappone, Avisi delle Isole Filippine, Copia de alcune littere del Padre Maestro Francesco Xavier (Rome, Ingolstadt 1563; Louvain 1571; Zaragoza 1591). They subsequently became a regular publication in the form of the Annuae Litterae Societatis Jesu anni 1581 ad Patres et Fratres ejusdem Societatis. Romae. They cover the years 1581–1614 and 1650–1654 and were compiled in Rome from the obligatory letters of the provincials and Mission Superiors to the Superior General. The first Franciscan attempt to provide a general overview of the Order’s missionary activity was made by Valentino Fricius: Indianischer Religionsstand der gantzen newen Welt beider Indien gegen Auff und Nidergang der Sonnen (Ingolstadt 1588).
Lettres édifiantes et curieuses (v.) contain chiefly material concerning the missions of the French Jesuits alone. We should also recall the Annales de l’Association de la Propagation de la Foi (v.).
Various religious institutes also began publishing their own missionary periodicals during the first half of the nineteenth century: the Lazarists in 1834 with the Annales de la Congrégation de la Mission; the Seminary of the Foreign Missions of Paris in 1841–42 with the Comptes rendus; the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit in 1857 with the Bulletin de la Congrégation di St Esprit et du S. Coeur de Marie; and the Oblates M. I. in 1862 with the Missions de la Congrégation des Missionnaires Oblats de Marie Immaculée, restricting communication of their journals to their own members so as not to create disagreements with the Work for the Propagation of the Faith. Several other less important journals, such as the Austrian ones of the Leopoldine Foundation and of Central Africa, and the Cologne journal for little negroes, were likewise addressed only to the members of their respective associations. The Lyon work began publishing in 1867 the weekly Les Missions catholiques. Bulletin hebdomadaire de l'Oeuvre de la Propagation de la Foi (v. MISSIONS CATHOLIQUES, LES).
In a short time, popular missionary periodicals multiplied increasingly. Today every missionary institute publishes its own missionary periodicals in the most varied countries, in order to encourage missionary vocations and obtain the assistance necessary for its missions. A scholarly journal, at the suggestion of Fr. Roberto Streit, was founded in 1911 through Prof. Schmidlin, namely the Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft (Münster 1911). In 1916 Fr. Streit himself began publishing the Bibliotheca Missionum, which, now under the direction of Fr. Giovanni Dindinger, has reached vol. XVII. In it, all sources and books concerning missionary activity are listed and subjected to critical examination. With Streit and Schmidlin, «missionary science», or «missiology», came into being.
It is impossible here to enumerate even the most important scholarly missionary publications of recent decades. For this purpose, one may consult the volumes of the Bibliografia missionaria, published by the Unione missionaria del clero in Italy.
II. THE MISSIONARY PRESS IN MISSION COUNTRIES
Mexico was the first country outside Europe to possess a printing press, through the Zumárraga (v.), and the first book printed was the Breve y mas compendiosa Doctrina Christiana en lengua Mexikana y Castellana (1539, «en casa de Juan Comberger»). In 1543 he had a Cartinha: Doctrina cristiana breve para enseñanza de los niños printed. In 1557 a Cartinha: Tratado da Doctrina Christiana estratta per s. Francesco Saverio dalla « Cartinha » di João de Barros was printed in Goa.In Japan, in 1591, we find a Flos Sanctorum printed by the Jesuits in Japanese, using Latin characters: Sanctos no go saguwo no Veli noqui gaqui (Katsusa 1591), in 2 vols., accompanied by a Japanese-Portuguese vocabulary. The celebrated catechism of Fr. Luis de Granada was printed the following year: Fides no doxi to vile amerataru xu no riacu (Amacusa 1592). Also dating from that year is the Japanese translation of the Doctrina cristiana of the archbishop of Évora, Theotonio de Braganza: Nipponno Jesus no Companhia no Superior yori Christan ni soto no cotonari no tagaino mondo no gotoqu xidai no vacachi tamo Doctrina (Amacusa 1592), which has a Japanese-Portuguese vocabulary in an appendix. In his annual letter of 1592, Luis Frois states that a calendar of feast and fast days for the use of Japanese Christians was printed; it may therefore be said with certainty that printing in Japanese characters began in 1591.
In China, Fr. Michele Ruggieri had the Decalogue printed from wooden blocks. Another woodblock print by the same Fr. Ruggieri dates from 1584; it was later revised by Fr. Matteo Ricci and was a Dialogo tra un pagano e un missionario, of which 1,500 copies were printed. From the preface by Fr. A. Valignano to the work De missione Legatorum Japonensium, we learn that the book by Fr. João Bonifacio, Christiani pueri Institutio Adolescentiaeque perfugium, was the first book printed with movable type, apud Linas in Portu Macaensi in Domo Societatis Jesu Anno 1588. Better known is the second book issued from this press: De Missione Legatorum Japonensium ad Romanam curiam, rebusq. in Europa ac toto itinere animadversis Dialogus. In Macaensi portu Sinici regni in domo Societatis Jesu. Anno 1590. The account was compiled by Fr. Duarte de Sande from the envoys’ diaries and translated into Latin.
From 1595 Matteo Ricci began the series of his major scientific publications in Chinese on theological, historical, mathematical, astronomical, and geographical subjects; he also published a treatise on Western typography.
In the Philippines, the first woodblock prints date from 1593: Doctrina Christiana en letera y lengua china, compuesta por los padres ministros de los sangleyes, de la Orden de santo Domingo. Con licencia, por Ken yong, China, en el parian de Manila and Doctrina Christiana en lengua espanola y tagale en S. Gabriel de la Orden de S. Domingo. En Manila 1593. During the first half of the seventeenth century, printing in mission countries underwent extraordinary development, especially in China and India. Translations of Holy Scripture, liturgical books, and theological works were published, as well as ascetical books, biographies, and treatises on the natural sciences.
To prevent any abuse in its own printing press, Propaganda decreed on 7 Sept. 1629 that no work should be carried out there without a special decree from the cardinal Prefect (Decreta C. de Prop. Fide, 1620-75, n. 29, p. 20); and, to overcome the difficulties arising from the multiplicity of foreign languages, on 3 Feb. 1631 it was established that books in foreign languages should not be printed in the polyglot press unless the manuscript was accompanied by a translation into Latin or Italian (ibid., n. 60, p. 39). Moreover, on 6 Dec. 1655, Propaganda prohibited all apostolic missionaries « sub poena privationis officii, vocis activae et passivae, suppressionis eiusdem operis et excommunicationis latae sententiae ipso facto incurrendae ac soli S.mo reservatae » from printing books without Propaganda’s prior written permission (ibid., n. 195, pp. 153-64; Collect., I, n. 124 [Rome 1907]). The General Congregation of 28 Feb. 1673 had a copy of the decree of 6 Dec. 1655 sent to the Superiors of all Orders working in the missions, with the addition « ne typis vulgent ea que ad missiones pertinent » (Acta S. C. de Prop. Fide, 1673 [43] f. 28 v.).
The book by the Procurator General of the Carmelites, Vincenzo Maria di S. Caterina da Siena, Il viaggio all'Indie orientali, printed in Rome itself without Propaganda’s prior permission, gave Propaganda occasion to ask the Holy Father to renew the prohibition against printing books in the missions and about the missions (Acta S. C. de Prop. Fide, 1673 [43] ff. 76-76v).
With the brief Creditae nobis of 6 Apr. 1673, Clement X extended the prohibition of 6 Dec. 1655 to: Libros et scripta in quibus de Missionibus vel de rebus ad Missiones pertinentibus agitur, under penalty of incurring the censures established by the decree of 1655; members of the Society of Jesus were not exempt. This was because books often containing false and inept material (saepe falsa et inepta continentes) brought harm to the Church, not without offending pious and learned men; this was perhaps connected with the question of the rites.
The Particular Congregation for China of 31 July 1673 prohibited the translation of Holy Scripture into Chinese (Acta Congr. Partic. dell'Indie orientali, 1672-74 f. 52v, ibid., f. 13; Collect., I, n. 206 [Rome 1907]); its decree was confirmed by the General Congregation of 20 Nov. 1673 (Acta S. C. de Prop. Fide, 1674 [43], f. 352). The missionary press, previously so flourishing, began to decline, with the consequent scarcity of catechisms and prayer manuals. For this reason the visitor of Japan and vice-provincial of China, Domingos Pinheyro, addressed himself to Propaganda, requesting permission to have certain books printed, « non de controversis Sinicis, sed de rebus piis quales sunt exhortationes ad devotionem et Sanctae Legis observantiam ac Libelli precum et similia » (Decreti della S. Congr. dall'anno 1719 al 1740, f. 546). On 28 Sept. 1739, Propaganda granted the request, on condition, however, that such books contain nothing either directly or indirectly contrary to the constitution Ex illa die of 19 March 1715; that the Jesuit superior general and the bishop or apostolic vicar of the place where they were printed grant permission for printing; and that they send a copy to Propaganda (Decreti della S. Congr. dall'anno 1719 al 1740, ff. 546v-47). Since Benedict XIV, through the constitution Ex quo singulari of 11 July 1742, had confirmed Clement XI’s constitution Ex illa die, Propaganda decreed on 27 Sept. 1743 that the bishops and apostolic vicars should re-examine all the books already printed in China, to determine whether they contained principles contrary to the aforementioned constitutions (Acta Congr. Partic. super rebus Sin. et Ind. ab anno 1742 ad 1748, tom. 8 f. 59); and on 8 Oct. 1743 it wrote to them « ut curent omnes libros qui aliquid continent contravium constitutionibus Ex illa die et Ex quo singulari prorsus supprimi, et abolere, nisi corrigi possunt » (Lettere della S. Congr. e di mons. Segret. per le Indie orientali dall'anno 1743 al 1746 [161], ff. 54v-57v). By a decree of 28 Dec. 1770, Propaganda granted the Ordinaries of China and Tonkin permission for the « parvas doctrinas, catechismos, instructiones, ac preces, quae fidelium usui quotidiano inserviunt » to require only the imprimatur of the Ordinary (Decreti della S. C. dall'anno 1768 al 1778, ff. 82v-82; Collect., I, Rome 1907, n. 482).
In the Instruction issued by Propaganda on 8 Sept. 1869 to the apostolic vicars of the East Indies, Propaganda prescribed that printing presses be established in India in order effectively to combat the activity of the Protestants, who were flooding the country with their books (Collect. II, n. 1346/39 [Rome 1907]).
On 18 October 1883, the S. Congregation issued an Instruction to the apostolic vicars of China, enjoining them to open at least one Chinese printing press in each vicariate, so that the books necessary for the dissemination and preservation of the Faith might be printed (Collect., II, n. 1606, Rome 1907; XI, ibid. 1917, n. 7). Today, the prescriptions of the Code also apply to the printing of books in mission territories, except for special instructions of a prudential nature. - Vedi tav. LXXIX.