THE RELIGIOUS QUESTION
IN MEXICO
Luis Cabrera
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THE RELIGIOUS QUESTION
IN MEXICO
BY
LUIS CABRERA
Secretary of Finance ef the Mexican Goverment
LAS NOVEDADES
225 W. 39th St., NEW YORK
1915

Luis Cabrera
Secretary of Finance of the Mexican Government
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THE RELIGIOUS QUESTION
IN MEXICO
1
The question of the Church in Mexico has not been well un-
derstood in the United States, because the conditions of the
Mexican Catholic Church differ vastly from those of the Cath-
olic Church in the United States.
· In Mexico, ninety-nine per cent of the population profess the
Roman Catholic faith, and, therefore, the influence of the Cath-
olic clergy in religious matters has no counterbalance of any sort.
In the United States there are other Churches which coun-
terbalance the influence of the Catholic Church. On the other
hand, the Catholic Church in the United States does not hold
unlimited sway over society, nor can it attain uncontrollable
political power;. the very education of the American people has
prevented Rome from exercising so far the influence which it
exercises in other countries.
Before the war of the Reform (1856 to 1859), the Catholic
Church was the strongest temporal power existing in Mexico,
and the laws of the Reform enacted during that period all tended
to deprive the Church of its power and bring about the absolute
independence of Church and State.
The laws of the Reform are a collection of rules passed. previ.
ous to 1860, with the aim of depriving the Catholic Church of its
temporal power; and these rules have remained effective, be-
cause the conditions which then demanded their enactment still
prevail and still make it necessary that the laws should remain
in force.
The aim of the Revolution of Ayutla, from 1856 to 1859, was
to deprive the Church of economic power and of its social in-
fluence, and it had to place the Church in a condition which,
apparently, is disadvantageous and unjust, but which in reality
was and continues to be the only possible manner of reducing the
Catholic clergy to impotence.
The principal laws enacted previous to 1860, for governing
the Church 'and stripping it of the temporal power which it
enjoyed, are the following:
(a) Separation of the Church and State.
(b) Incapacity of the Church to possess landed property.
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(c) Abolition of convents.
These laws, which are called laws of the Reform, were estab-
lished in Mexico after a revolution which may be considered the
most bloody that Mexico has ever witnessed—a revolution which
affected the country more deeply than even the present revolu-
tion is doing. The clergy defended themselves desperately
against the laws which stripped them of power, and on finding
themselves defeated, they resorted in 1860 to the intervention
of foreign Powers (Spain, France and England), which attempt-
ed to intervene with the pretext of the fulfilment of the financial
obligations of the Juarez Government.
The treason of the Clerical party had as a result French in-
tervention only, but the laws of the Reform enacted against the
clergy were of such importance and so necessary, that the Em-
peror Maximilian himself did not dare to undo what had been
done in the time of Juarez.
The French troops being withdrawn and the Constitutionalist
Government of Mexico reestablished, the laws of the Reform
were not only maintained, but in 1874 they were incorporated
in the political Constitution.
At the present time, there are precepts contained in the Mexi-
can Constituion which correspond to those laws of the Reform,
and, according to that Constitution, all the laws and all the au-
thorities of the country must enforce the fulfilment of those lawś.
It becomes necessary at this moment to distinguish between
the real aims of the Constitutionalist Government regarding the
religious question, and that part of the actual happenings which
is merely a deplorable consequence of the attitude assumed by
the Catholic clergy since 1910 against the revolutionary move-
ment.
The aim of the Constitutionalist Government, with regard to
the Mexican Catholic Church, is to enforce the strict observance
of the laws known as laws of the Reform, which up to the present
time have been disregarded. The Constitutionalist Government
demands the fulfilment of these laws, because they form an in-
tegral part of the Mexican Constitution. These laws must be
maintained because the causes which demanded their enactment
are still prevalent in the country.
A brief analysis of the principal laws of the Reform will
further clear up the matter.
THE SEPARATION OF THE CHURCH AND STATE.
According to the Mexican Constitution, there must be abso-
lute separation between the Church and State. This signifies
that the Church is to lack all temporal power and that, as an
6.
organized institution, it is not to participate in the political af-
fairs of the country.
It has never been intended to deny Mexican Catholics either
the exercise of their religion, or their right to take part in the
political affairs of Mexico. We Constitutionalists are Catho-
lics; the Villistas are Catholics; the Zapatistas are Catholics.
Ninety-nine per cent. of the Mexican population is Catholic, and,
therefore, the Constitutionalist party could not in the present
struggle attempt to deprive the Catholics, who form the totality
of the Mexican people, of their right to profess their religion,
or of their right to take part in political questions.
The Catholic clergy and the Church in general abstained for
a long time from interference in the political problems of Mex-
ico. During the time of General Díaz, the Catholic clergy made
no attempt to organize themselves for political campaigns, but
appeared to maintain themselves in strict obedience to the law,
in the belief, perhaps, that they could avail themselves of other
indirect proceedings for exercising their influence in the political
affairs of the country.
On the retirement of General Díaz from the Government, and
on Francisco de la Barra's accession to the Presidency, the
Catholic clergy of Mexico believed the moment had arrived to
organize themselves for the political struggle, and to that effect
a political group was formed, under the patronage of the Catho-
lic clergy, made up chiefly of big land-owners. This group took
the name of "Catholic Party”, with deliberate intention of
taking advantage of the religious sentiments of the population
to induce it to vote in conformity with their directions. The
Catholic clergy" started to make propaganda in favor of the
Catholic party, first in a discreet manner, bringing moral
preassure to bear upon the ignorant masses, who were unable to
discern clearly where their duties as Catholics ceased, and where
began their rights as citizens.
The Catholic party is, in a nutshell, the political organization
of the Catholic Church of Mexico. This single fact constitutes
a peril for democratic institutions, and was naturally bound to
be looked upon with great disfavor by the anti-reelectionist
party, first, and later by the Constitutionalist party.
At the time that de la Barra was President, the Catholic party
attempted to rob the Revolution of the fruits of its triumph,
designating de la Barra as its candidate for the Presidency
of the Republic. The considerable prestige which Madero en-
joyed at that time frustrated this attempt of the Catholic party,
which had to limit its pretensions to the Vice-Presidency of the
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Republic, resigning itself to have as President, Madero, a man
sprung from the Revolution; and as Vice-President, de la Barra,
a man perfectly well known as being of the ancient régime and
and the principal leader of the Catholic party.
In the elections of October, 1911, the formula of the pro-
gressive Constitutionalist party triumphed over the Madero-de
la Barra formula, which was that of the party of the principal
enemies of the Catholic Government; but from that moment
that of the enemies of the Government of Francisco I. Madero.
In the elections for deputies and senators of 1912, the Catho-
lic party succeeded in obtaining a considerable number of depu-
ties, amounting to almost thirty per cent, of the Lower House;
whilst the Senate, which was almost completely made up of
Porfirista elements, was only renewed by half and scarcely ob-
tained eight or ten senators as followers of the new régime.
The Catholic clergy of Mexico, directly and through the in-
termission of the Catholic Party, were one of the principal fact-
ors in the downfall of Madero, and although perhaps Huerta
was not the candidate designated to replace him, the fact is that
the Clerical chief, de la Barra, formed part of the Cabinet which
resolved upon the murder of Madero and Pino Suarez.
Subsequently, the party obtained important posts for its prin-
cipal leaders in the Government of Huerta, and finally supported
the candidacy of Federico Gamboa.
It is unnecessary to enter into details regarding the decided
assistance lent socially by the clergy, and the political support
given by the Catholic party, to Huerta, with both their men
and money. But the principal assistance given by the Catholic
clergy to the Government of Huerta was contained in the efforts
made by their principal dignitaries and other members of the
high clergy to create an opinion, if not favorable to Huerta, at
least very unfavorable to Constitutionalists.
This end was accomplished, not through the individual means
that any citizen is at liberty to place at the disposal of a political
party, but by taking advantage of the religious influence exer-
cised by the Catholic clergy over the faithful, from the pulpit
and in the confessional.
During the war against Huerta, one of the things which most
greatly surprised the Constitutionalists was the extremely hos-
tile and unjust opinion encountered by them in each of the towns
which they came to occupy. It was in the nature of a paradox.
The strongest armed resistance that the Constitutionalist par-
ty encountered in the cities, in the form of social defence, was
not an opposition caused by the sympathy which the residents
of the cities might have experienced in favor of Huerta, but was
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originated in the antipathy which had been created against the
Constitutionalist forces, whom the Catholic clergy on all occa-
sions represented as bandits who were intent on seizing the
towns solely for purposes of plunder, theft, violation of women,
and murder. This opinion had its source in sermons, in the
confessionals, and in an extensive correspondence, proofs of
which have been secured.
The work done by the clergy in creating an opinion antago-
nistic to the Constitutionalist troops explains, if it cannot justi-
fy, many of the acts of aggression, and even attempts of Consti-
tutionalist soldiers against members of the Catholic clergy.
Since the triumph of the Revolution, there has been on the
part of the Constitutionalist Government no other aim with
regard to the clergy than that of restricting them within the
limits of their faculties and of their spiritual mission, that of
making effective the separation of the Church and the State,
and of keeping the clergy from taking any participation, as a
religious institution, in our political questions. But a political
struggle having developed, it is natural that the military groups
should experience strong displeasure, especially on laboring un-
der the effects of the clerical propaganda against the Revolu-
tion, and that, instead of limiting themselves to restrain the
clergy within due bounds, they should overstep this limitation
and even, on some occasions, attempt to interfere in matters of
a purely religious character. The restriction of religious serv-
ices in some places and the destruction of the confessionals are
instances of this. The destruction of confessionals has been the
most ostensible manifestation of the ill will with which the re-
volutionary troops have regarded the use that the Catholic
clergy have made of the sacrament of confession as a weapon
of political strife.
If the Catholic clergy had maintained themselves within their
religious attributes, without interfering in the struggle, and,
what is more, if they had not put in action the advantages which
they derive from their capacity of intellectual directors of the
masses, the counter-effects on the part of the Revolutionary
troops would not have occurred.
It is unnecessary to repeat that the Constitutionalist Govern-
ment itself has never pretended to interfere in religious mat-
ters, or to restrain in any manner the religious liberty of the
Mexican people. The Constitutionalist Government does not
propose to establish laws which affect religion, nor does it in
any way propose to restrict religious practices.
The course of action followed by the Constitutionalist Gov-
ernment justifies this statement, since, owing to the influence
..
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of the First Chief of the Revolution, Venustiano Carranza, the
military acts which were considered restrictive of religious lib-
erty have been diminishing in number and in gravity.
PROPERTIES OF THE CHURCH.
The Mexican Constitution and the laws of the Reform deter-
mine that neither the Catholic Church nor any other religious
corporation, regardless of character, denomination, duration or
object, can own landed property.
The reason for this ordinance is that the Catholic clergy con-
stituted, previous to 1856, the strongest economic power exist-
ing in the country.
In 1856, an attempt was made to disentail the properties of
the clergy, that is, to destroy the mortmain, compelling the
clergy to alienate their landed property. This was the tendency
of the laws of disentailment.
The clergy vigorously resisted this law, believing that their
economic power was thus considerably reduced, and with this
motive started the struggle called the War of the Reform' or
Three Years' War.
The laws of 1856 did not expropriate the clergy, but in view
of the latters' completely rebellious attitude, in 1859 Benito Jua-
rez issued in Vera Cruz a law called “Nationalization of the
Lands of the Clergy,” by which was expropriated all th landed
property of the Catholic clergy who had resisted and struggled
against the disentailment of these lands.
In virtue of this law, the temples became national property,
the titles of ownership remaining in the hands of the State, but
the usufruct of the same being reserved to the Catholic Church.
As to the clergy's landed property and real estate investments,
these were turned over to the nation and awarded to individuals.
The vital point of the laws of the Reform regarding the Catho-
dic clergy lies in the declaration of civil incapacity of religious
•corporations to own lands. This measure, though it may ap-
pear extreme, was absolutely necessary in 1859, in order to de-
prive the clergy of their temporal power. The measure still
continues to be absolutely indispensable, because if religious cor-
porations were at this moment permitted to acquire landed prop-
erty, a considerable mortmain would inmediate be created, from
which a great amount of power would again be derived by the
Catholic Church, who would thus recover their temporal power,
which all countries have admitted should not be tolerated.
Moreover, it can be said that the reason for which the Catholic
Church of Mexico has taken, as a Church, participation in the
political struggle, and attemps to recover its influence and its
10
temporal power, is that for several years past it has been suc-
cessfully evading the law in so far as regards the possession
of lands.
According to the Mexican law, the Catholic Church is inca-
pacitated from acquiring lands, by which is understood not only
landed property, but also capital invested in real estate.
The Mexican law also prohibits the feoffments which might
cause the property to appear in the hands of an individual, when
it really belongs to the Church, or is used exclusively for the
benefit of the Church.
Feoffments from bishop to bishop are not permitted in Mex-
ico, and the states owned by members of the clergy are con-
sidered as their personal property, to be freely transmitted to
the voluntary or legal inheritors of the owners.
The estates of a bishop in Mexico, when not acquired through
agreement or bequest, are to be transmitted to his legal inheri-
tors.
For a long time past, Mexican bishops, rectors and even a
number of laymen have been owning lands which apparently
are their personal property, but the products of which in reality
are destined to be turned over to the Church. These lands effec-
tually constitute a mortmain, because their owners, before dying,
have to bequeath them to the persons previously designated by
the Church, whether to the succeeding bishop or to any other
person especially designated to that effect.
That is how the Church has, against the law, been acquiring
a large amount of landed property having the appearance of
private property.
But, in practice, the lands personally owned could not always
be taken over without difficulties by the new trustee designated
by the Church, and experience showed that from time to time
properties were lost to the Church which were claimed by the
legal inheritors of the owner apparent.
These losses emphasized the advisability of finding other
means to tie up the property to the Church, without ostensibly
violating the laws of the Reform. In some places stock com-
panies have been organized, without any determined mercantile
end, but solely for the purpose of managing the estates which
might be entrusted to these companies. The capital of the com-
panies was made up of contributions by the members of the
clergy or by individuals; the shares of the company, and there-
foré, its management, being retained by the bishops. Notable
instances of this can be had in the bishoprics of Durango, Pue-
bla, and several other parts of the country.
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Briefly, it can be saįd that the Catholic Church, transgressing
the law which prohibits it from acquiring landed property, has
found means of necessary, just and legal appearance for pos-
sessing lands, which have served it to recover little by little its
political influence.
The confiscation of the lands illegally possessed by the Catho-
lic Church of Mexico is a necessary, just and legal confiscation,
and in that sense, all the confiscations of lands pertaining to
the Church are legitimate, for which reason the Constitutional-
ist Government is in the right in continuing the same policy,
not only confiscating the properties which are openly in the
ownership of the clergy, but also investigating those properties
which apparently belong to individuals, but which, through the
history of their former owners and through the form of their
administration, can be clearly distinguished as properties of the
Church.
As regards the temples, since the passing of the laws of the
Reform, the ownership has been retained to the State, their use
being reserved to the Catholic Church. In fact, the Catholic
Church has for many years used the temples without restriction
of any kind and without paying rents, pensions or contributions
of any sort.
The limiting of the number of temples which are needed in
each place for religious services would have to be left to the
judgment of the Church, but as the Catholic clergy of Mexico
exercise absolute control in religious matters, without interven-
tion of any kind by the community, that is, by the parishioners,
in the administration of the estates or in the management of the
temporal interests of the parishes, or still less in the organiza-
tion of the religious services, there is nothing to serve as a basis
for determining the number of temples required by a certain
parish or a certain city.
It is, therefore, with State alone that the Church can
come to an understanding regarding the number of temples to
be reserved for the service, and the Government, as adminis-
trator of the nation's property, has the unquestionable right to
dispose of the temples, when required for uses which, in its esti-
mation, are of higher importance than the religious service, and
above all, when, because of the abundance of temples in a single
city, the number of those available for religious services is con-
sidered excessive:
Up to the present time, the Government has not made use
of this right.
Immediately after the passing of the laws of the Reform, and
principally since 1867, the Juarez Government took over some
12
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of the many temples in existence, for the purpose of turning
them to public uses, so that in the principal cities of the country,
it may be seen that the libraries, universities, hospitals, and
many other charitable institutions occupy buildings which origin-
ally were temples. Since 1876, the Catholic Church has enjoyed
unmolested the possession of a great number of temples, and the
Government up to the present had not tried to make use of its
right to consolidate the property of some of them, nor had there
been any ocasion to discuss the number of temples necessary
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for religious services.
The truth of the matter is that in some cities of Mexico
the number of temples open to public service is considerably ex-
cessive, in proportion to the religious needs. . A population of
10,000 inhabitants has enough with one or two temples open
for worship; however, there are towns, such as the City of Cho-
lula, in which the number of churches is so great in proportion
to the population that a source of real curiosity is found by tour-
ists in the vast number of temples, all of which are open for
service, all affording occupation to priests, and, therefore, sig-
nifying a strong contribution on the part of the faithful.
Puebla is a city of 100,000 inhabitants, and it is curious to
note that, until the time of its occupation by the Constitutionalist
Army, it had nearly 200 temples open to the public.
Merida is a city of 60,000 inhabitants, and it has enough with
twelve temples, that is, one for each 5,000 souls.
The city of Vera Cruz has a normal population of 50,000 in-
habitants, and three churches have always sufficed for religious
services.
Up to the present time, the number of temples destined for
public service in each place has been unlimited. The Govern-
ment notwithstanding its unquestionable right to dispose of
the buildings and to determine which are those that should be
reserved for religious services and which can be destined for
other purposes, had not limited the number of temples which
the Catholic Church controlled.
Lately, however, the attitude assumed by the clergy against
the Constitutionalist Revolution brought about the closing of
certain temples to religious services by a number of military
chiefs and State Governors, on their capturing towns.
This could be regarded as an act of hostility, or as a sort of
reprisal against the Catholic clergy, but in reality, and even
supposing that such were the case, the closing of some of the
temples, which never reached the extent of the total closing up
of all the churches in a town, does not constitute an illegal act
and is not censurable except in so far as regards the occasion
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on which it occurred, which, on the other hand, was elicited by
the attitude of the clergy themselves.
In substance: as regards goods and chattels, the Catholic
Church has full capacity to acquire and handle property. But
in so far as landed property is concerned, the Mexican Consti-
tution forbids the Catholic Church to own real estate or capital
invested in the same, and the only right granted the Church by
the laws is to maintain the temples immediately or directly des-
tined to religious service.
Concerning the temples open for worship, which are the prop-
erty of the State, their number is considerably greater than
is required to fill the demand, and the Government is not occa-
sioning a damage, but simply exercising a right, when it con-
solidates the property of those temples which it is not essential
should remain in the power of the Church.
CONVENTS.
The laws of the Reform established the abolition of all con-
vents and of all religious essociations of monastic life. The
monastic orders existing in Mexico, not only those of a merely
contemplative nature, but also those of an educational and char-
itable nature, were abolished in virtue of these laws.
In 1874 they even went so far as to abolish the charity insti-
tution known as “Sisters of Charity,” and the other regular
orders, especially those of the Jesuits, were then expelled.
The abolition of the monastic orders in Mexico was a meas-
sure clearly taken in defence of human liberty, which was found
to be threatened by them.
This was especially so in regard to women, whose education
was still very deficient, so that they were not in a condition to
defend their liberty when the tremendous moral pressure of
parents and relatives was brought to bear upon them in order
to force them to enter a convent.
The Mexican woman, particularly the one who possessed riches
in her own right, was always exposed to the danger of seeing
her liberty restricted by her entrance into a convent, where it
became impossible to prove that her permanence there was not
absolutely voluntary.
The Mexican woman has not, like the American woman, an
education which enables her personally to look after her own
liberty, and before the passing of the laws of the Reform, experi-
ence taught that the existence of convents was a constant threat
to feminine liberty.
Even subsequently to the passing of these laws, rich heiresses
have always been the object of suggestions inducing them to
take the religious vow in a foreign country.
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The laws of the Reform completely abolish the monastic or-
ders, and within the principle established by them, all religious
congregations of a monastic character must be dismenbered.
At the time of General Díaz, however, a policy of toleration
was initiated in favor of religious orders, first in regard to char-
ity institutions, later in regard to educational orders, finally wind-
ing up by assuming the same tolerant attitude toward the con-
templative orders, which, although illegal in their existence,
were not effectually proceeded against by the judicial author-
ities.
The conditions prevailing in Italy after 1870; those which
have been prevalent for a long time in Spain, since the consider-
able excess of monastic orders made necessary the positive de-
portation of person's bound by monastic vows; and the condi-
tions recently created in France for monastic orders, especially
for those of an educational character, since 1906:—all this has
led a great number of foreign nuns and monks to take refuge in
Mexico and settle there with the character of monastic orders.
The existence of these orders was tolerated in the time of
General Díaz. Many of them constituted an open violation of
the law; others, chiefly the French educational orders, tried to
conform themselves to the laws of public instruction and ac
quired greater freedom of action in their work.
On the fall of General Huerta and the inauguration of the
Constitutionalist Government in the principal cities of the Re-
public, several monastic orders were abolished, and as the mem-
bers of these were mostly foreigners, the majority voluntarily
expatriated themselves.
It is not true that the nuns were made victims of such offences
as have been attributed to the members of the Constitutionalist
army. The only occurrence has been the dispersion of several
religious groups, whose members have withdrawn to foreign
countries.
RESUME.
The religious question in Mexico can be summarized as fol-
lows:
1. The aims of the Constitutionalist Government regarding
the Catholic Church are not such as might be inferred from the
isolated acts which, as a consequence of the war, and above all,
of the intervention of the clergy in our political contentions, the
Catholic Church has on several occasions had to undergo.
2. The conditions of the Catholic Church in Mexico are to-
tally different from the conditions of the same Church in the
United States.
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3. The laws of the Reform establish a determined condition
for the Catholic Church in Mexico, which is totally different
from the condition which it has according to the laws of the
United States.
4. The said laws of the Reform correspond to a situation
which is peculiar to Latin America, and the laws in question are
absolutely indispensable in order to deprive the Catholic Church
of the temporal power which it had before the War of the Re-
form.
5. These laws must subsist at the present time, because the
social conditions which made them requisite are still prevalent.
6. During recent years the Catholic Church in Mexico was
entirely lawless, transgressing the regulations of the Mexican
Constitution and of the laws of the Reform.
7. The intervention of the clergy in political matters, the
possession of landed property on the part of the clergy, and the
existence of convents, are acts wholly illegal and violative of the
Constitution.
Briefly; whatever abuses or excesses which, without the knowl-
edge and without the consent of the Government, may have
been committed, are far having the importance which is at-
tributed to them, and are nothing more than a consequence of
the conditions in which the same Catholic Church placed itself
on taking an active part in the struggle against the Constitu-
tionalist Revolution.
The Constitutionalist Government has tried and continues
trying to reduce to a minimum the possible reprisáls against the
Church. The Constitutionalist Government intends, at the same
time, to maintain the absolute separation of the Church and
State, and, therefore, it is not to be wondered at that it enforces
all the measures which tend to deprive the Catholic clergy of
the temporal power which it is attempting to recover; and it.
declares, if necessary, the incapacity of the religious corpora-
tions to organize political groups; and that it proceeds to con
fiscate those properties which are illegally in the hands of the
Church, or of which, even when owned by individuals, the usu-
fruct can be proved to be reserved to the Church.
The Constitutionalist Government finally proposes to make
effective the abolition of the monastic orders existing in Mexico,
and, above all, of those of a merely contemplative character.
To sum up, the Constitutionalist Government proposes to give
full guarantees in religious matters to the exercise of any cult,
but strictly. enforces the observance of the laws of the Reform
and of the Mexican Constitution.
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APPENDIX
>
LAW OF THE 12th OF JULY 1859.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS
AND PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
Most Excellent Sir:–His Excellency the constitutional Pre-
sident ad interim of the Republic has ordered the following de-
cree to be published:
THE CITIZEN BENITO JUAREZ, Constitutional President
ad interim of the United States of Mexico, to all its inhabitants,
know ye:
That with the unanimous approval of the Cabinet, and
CONSIDERING
That the present war, promoted and sustained by the clergy,
has for its chief aim the deliverance of the said clergy from its
dependence to the civil authorities;
That when these authorities have offered to better the income
of the clergy, the clergy has refused even that which would be
to its benefit, in order to disavow the authority of the sovereign
people;
That when the sovereign people, fulfilling the mandate of the
clergy. itself on the subject of parochial imposts, attempted
thereby to remove from the clergy the hatred it was attracting
by its manner of collecting these imposts, the clergy chose to
seem to desire to perish rather than to subject itself to any law;
That inasmuch as the determination shown in these matters by
the Archbishop proves that the clergy can support itself in
Mexico, as in other countries, without civil law regulations of
the collection of imposts from the faithful;
That if at other times there might have been some one to
doubt that the clergy has been one of the constant hindrances to
the establishment of public peace, at present all acknowledge
that it is in open rebellion against the sovereign people;
That the clergy, having diminished by waste the large funds
intrusted to it for holy purposes by the faithful, now inverts
what remains of those funds in the general destruction, support-
ing and making bloodier every day the fratricidal struggle begun
by the same clergy in its disavowal of the legitimate authority,
denying the Republic the right to constitute a government to the
peoples's convenience;
17 -
Y
That, since up to the present all efforts to end a war that is
ruining the Republic have failed, to leave any longer in the hands
of the sworn enemy the resources which it has misused so
grievously would be to become its accomplice, and
That it is an imperious duty to put in execution all measures
that may save the situation and save society;
I have thought it wise to decree the following:
Article 1.-All the property that the secular and regular
clergy has been managing under various titles, whether in the
shape of landed property or in whatever name or form it may
have been held, comes under the dominion of the nation.
Art. 2.-A special law will determine the manner and form of
entry, into the treasury of the nation, of the wealth above
mentioned.
Art. 3.—There shall be perfect independence between the af-
fairs of the State and the affairs purely ecclesiastical. The gov-
ernment will limit itself to protect with its authority the public
worship of the Catholic religion, as well as of any other religion.
Art. 4.—The ministers of the faith for the administration of
the sacrament and other religious functions, will be permitted
to accept the gifts and oblations offered in return for services
rendered. Neither gifts nor indemnizations can be rendered in
the shape of real estate,
Art. 5.-The existent religious orders, regardless of the de-
nomination to which they may belong and of the purpose for
which they may have been created, as well as archconfratern-
ities, confraternities and brotherhoods united to the religious
communities and the cathedrals or parishes or whatever other
churches, are suppressed throughout the Republic.
Art. 6.—The foundation and construction of new convents or
religious orders of archconfraternities, confraternities and
brotherhoods of whatever form or apellation, are hereby pro-
hibited. In the same manner the wearing of the dresses of the
suppressed orders is forbidden.
Art. 7.—As this law reduces the regular clergy of the sup-
pressed orders to the secular clergy, they will be subject, as the
latter, to the ordinary ecclesiastics, in religious matters.
Art. 8.—To each one of the regular ecclesiastics of the sup-
pressed orders, who will not disobey the law, the government will
give 500 pesos once only. To the regular ecclesiastics who,
because of sickness or old age, are incapacitated in their duties,
in addition to the 500 pesos there shall be given 3,000 pesos in-
vested in property so that they may support themselves com-
petently. Of both sums they may dispose freely as of their own.
property
Art. 9.—The members of the suppressed orders will be em-
powered to take to their homes furniture and other appertain-
ances which they had in the convent for their personal use.
Art. 10.-The images, embroideries, robes and sacred vessels
18
of the suppressed regular churches shall be delivered over to
the bishop of the diocese for formal inventory.
Art. 11.-The governor of the District and the governors of
the States at the demand of the M. R. Archbishop and the R.
Bishops of the dioceses, shall designate those temples of the sup-
pressed regulars that are to be used for religious services, ex-
plaining first and scrupulously their necessity and utility.
Art. 12.—The books, manuscripts, paintings, and antiques and
other objects belonging to the suppressed religious communities
shall be turned over to the museums, public schools, libraries
and other public establishments.
Art. 13.—The regular ecclesiastics of the suppressed orders
who after fifteen days from the publication of this law in each
place continue to wear in public the ecclesiastical robe, or to live
in communities, will not receive their share as mentioned in
article 8, and after the fifteen days have elapsed, should they
continue to live in communities, they will be immediately expell-
ed from the Republic.
Art. 14.-The convents of the nuns which are at present in
existence shall remain, observing the private regulation
of their cloister. The convents of these nuns which were subject
to the spiritual jurisdiction of some of the suppressed regulars,
remain under that of the bishops of the diocese.
· Art. 15.-Every nun that may leave her convent shall receive,
on leaving, the sum given as dowry on her entrance to the con-
vent, whether this was given as paraphernalia, or obtained as
a private donation, or acquired from some pious foundation.
Each sister of mercy who had brought nothing to her convent
shall receive a sum of 500 pesos on the act of leaving the convent.
Of the dowry as well as the pension they shall dispose freely as
of their own property.
Art. 16.-The political and judicial authorities of the place
shall offer all manner of help to the outgoing nuns, so as to
make effective the payment of the dowry or the sum mentioned
in the above article.
Art. 17.-Each nun shall keep the capital which in the shape
of dowry may have gone to the convent. This capital will be
secured to her in landed property or real estate by means of
official documents which will be issued to her individually.
Art. 18.--To each one of the convents of nuns there will be
left a sufficient capital so that with its proceeds they may attend
to the repair of the factories and expenses of the feasts of their
patron saints and of Christmas, Holy Week, Corpus Christi,
Resurrection and All Saints and to other expenses.
The superiors and chaplains of the respective convents shall
give the estimates for these expenses, which shall be presented
within fifteen days after the publication of this law to the gov-
ernor of the District and to the governors of the respective
States for their revision and approval.
19
Art. 19.—All the wealth remaining in the convents shall be
turned over to the general treasury of the nation in accordance
with article 1 of this law.
Art. 20.- The nuns which shall remain cloistered can dispose
of their respective dowries, bequeathing them freely according to
law. In case they do not leave a will or have no kin who can
receive that inheritance, then the dowry will be turned into the
public treasury
Art. 21.--All the convents for nuns will be closed forever to
the novitiate. The present novices will not be permitted to take
their vows and on leaving the novitiate they will receive what
they have brought to the convent.
Art. 22.-All transfers of wealth mentioned in this law, be they
by some individual of the clergy or whatever persons who should
not have received authorization from the constitutional govern-
ment, are null and void. The buyer, be he a native or a for-
eigner, is obliged to return whatever was brought, or its value,
and furthermore shall be fined five per cent of the value. The
notary who authorized the contract shall be deposed and for-
ever debarred from public service, and the witnesses will suf-
fer the penalty of from one to four years in the penitentiary.
Art. 23.--All those who directly or indirectly shall oppose or
in whatsoever manner, prevent the fulfilment of this law, will be,
according as the government qualifies the gravity of the offense,
хр led from the Republic or turned over to the judicial au-
thorities. In this case they will be judged and punished as con-
spirators. There will be no appeal of pardon from the sentence
which will be pronounced against these culprits by the com-
petent court.
Art. 24.-All the penalties which this law imposes will be made
effective by the judicial authorities of the nation or by the
political ones of the State, these communicating immediately
with the general government.
Art. 25.—The governor of the District, and the governors of
the States in their turn, shall consult with the government the
means which they will find convenient for the fulfilment of this
law. Therefore I order it printed, published and circulated.
Given in the government palace in Veracruz, 12th. of July, 1859.
BENITO JUAREZ. Melchor Ocampo. President of the Cabinet,
Minister of the Interior in charge of Foreign Relations, and of
War and of Navy. Lic. Manuel Ruiz. Minister of Justice,
Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Instruction.-Miguel Lerdo de
Tejada, Minister of the Treasury and in charge of "Fomento"
(Public advancement).
I communicate this to Your Exc. for your information and ful-
filment. Palace of the general government in Veracruz, 12th. of
July, 1859.
Ruiz. Most excllt. governor of the State of:
20
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LAW
of the 25th, of September 1873 on additions and reforms
to the Constitution.
Department of the Interior.--First Section.
The citizen President of the Republic has forwarded to this
Department the following decree:
SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA, Constitutional President
of the United States of Mexico, to all its inhabitants, know ye:
That the Congress of the Union has decreed the following:
The Congress of the United States of Mexico in the exercise
of the faculty conceded by article 127 of the political Constitu-
tion promulgated the 12th. of February 1857, and in accordance
with the approval of the majority of the Legislatures of the
Republic, declares the following articles to be additions and
reforms to the same Constitution:
Article. 1.--The State and the Church are independent from
each other. Congress cannot dictate laws establishing or pro-
hibiting any religion.
Art. 2:-Matrimony is a civil contract. This and other acts on
the civil state of persons are of the exclusive jurisdiction of
civil functionaries and authorities, in the terms provided by the
laws, which will have the force and validity attributed to them.
Art. 3.—No religious institution may acquire real estate or
capital invested in real estate, except only as established by
article 27 of the Constitution.
Art. 4.—The simple promise to tell the truth and to fulfill the
contracted obligations shall substitute the religious oath with
its effects and penalties.
Art. 5.—No one may be compelled to lend his personal services
without a fair retribution or without his full consent. The State
cannot admit the validity of any contract, pact or agreement, by
virtue of which a man may impair, lose or irretrievably sacrifice
his liberty, whether by reason of work, of education, or of
religious vows. The law, consequently, does not recognize
monastic orders, nor can it permit their establishment, whatever
their denominations, or the object with which they claim to be
formed. It cannot authorize pacts by which a man agrees to
his proscription or to his exile.
21
TRANSITORY
The anterior additions and reforms of the Constitution shall
be published at once with the greatest solemnity in the whole
Republic. Palace of the Congress of the Union, September 25th.
1873. Wherefore I order that it be printed, published, circulated
and obeyed. Given at the National Palace of Mexico on the
24th. of September 1873. SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA.
To the citizen Lic. Cayetano Gómez y Pérez, in charge of the
Ministry of the Interior. I forward it to you for your cognizance
and for its consequent effects. Independence and Liberty, Me-
xico, September 25th., 1873. Cayetano Gómez y Pérez, Acting
Secretary
Citizen governor of the State of. .
- 22
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LAWS OF REFORM
LAW OF DECEMBER 14TH, 1874.
Department of the Interior.-First Section.
The citizen President of the Republic has ordered to publish
the following decree:
SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA, Constitutional President of
the United States of Mexico, to its inhabitants, know ye:
“That the Congress of the Union has decreed the following:
“The Congress of the Union decrees:
FIRST SECTION.
"Art. 1.-The State and the Church are independent from each
other. No one will be empowered to dictate laws establishing or
prohibiting any religion; but the State exercises authority over
them, in regard to the preservation of public order and the
respect of the institutions of the State.
Art. 2.- The State guarantees the exercise of all cults in the
Republic. It will only prosecute and punish practices and acts
authorized by some cult, which may be in violation of our penal
laws.
“Art. 3.—No authority or corporation, or organized body, may
take part officially in the acts of any cult; nor under the pretext
of religious solemnities will they be permitted to make any de-
monstrations or celebrations. Therefore no holidays are author-
ized except those which have as their object the solemnization
of purely civil events. The Sundays are designated as days of
rest for the offices and public establishments.
“Art. 4.-Religious instruction and the official practices of
any cult whatever, are forbidden in all the establisments of the
Federation, of the States and of the municipalities. The prin-
ciples of morality will be taught in those establisments where it
may be relevant to do so, without reference to any cult. The
infraction of this article will be punished by a government fine
of 25 to 200 pesos, besides the dismissal of the guilty parties in
case of repetition of the offense. Persons living in a public
establishment may, if they so desire, meet in the temple of their
1
1
!
23
faith and receive in the same establishment, in case of extreme
urgency, the spiritual assistance of the religion they profess. The
corresponding regulations will fix the manner of carrying out
this authorization without impairing the object of the establish-
ment and without infraction of article 3.
“Art. 5.-No religious act can take place in public, but only
within a temple, under penalty of stopping the act and
punishing its authors by a government fine of 10 to 200 pesos or
imprisonment from ten to fifteen days. Should the act have taken
a solemn character by the number of persons attending it,
or for any other circumstances, the authors of it, as well as
the persons who will not obey the intimation of the authorities
to desist from it, will be imprisoned and turned over to the
judicial authorities, incurring a sentence from two to six months
imprisonment.
“No religious minister, or individual of either sex, member of
a cult, is permitted to wear distinctive or characteristic robes of
his cult outside of the temples, under penalty of 10 to 100.pesos.
“Art. 6.-The ringing of bells will be limited strictly as a call
to the performance of religious acts. The police shall regulate
the ringing of bells so that it may not cause any inconvenience
to the public.
“Art. 7.–For a temple to enjoy the prerrogatives of such, in
accordance with article 969 and with the other articles on this
matter of the Penal Code of the District, which articles are here-
by declared in force throughout the Republic, the existence and
installation of the temple must be communicated to the political
authorities of the locality, where it shall be entered in a registry
kept for this purpose, and from where notice shall be given to
the government of the State, which in its turn shall advise the
Ministry of the Interior. As soon as a temple is known to be
used for other purposes than those exclusively of its cult, it shall
be stricken from the registry of temples for the effects of this
article.
"Art. 8.-The legacies and institutions of successions which
may be made in favor of ministers of any cult or of persons who
dwell with the aforesaid ministers, if these should have given
any manner of spiritual help to the testator during the sickness
from which he died, or have been his confessors, are null and
void.
"Art. 9.-Equally null and void are the institutions of succes-
sion or legacies, which, even though they may have been made
ostensibly in favor of those legally qualified, are in direct con-
travention of the law and infringe fraction III of art. 15.
« Art. 10.-The ministers of the cults may not enjoy, by reason
of their character, any privileges which shall distinguish them,
by law, from other citizens, and are not subject to any more
interdictions than those which this law and the Constitution
outline.
24
,!
‘Art. 11.—The speeches of religious ministers which may
be spoken advising disobedience to the laws or provoking some
misdemeanor or some felony make unlawful the assembly
wherein such words are spoken, and therefore such assembly
loses the guarantees granted in art. 9 of the Constitution. The au-
thor of the address or speech will be subject in this case to the
rules of the third book, section six, chapter eight of the Penal
Code, which is declared in force on this point throughout the
Republic. The misdemeanor's committed by instigation or
suggestion of a minister of any cult; as referred to in this article,
place such minister in the category of principal author of the
deed.
“Art. 12.--All meetings which may take place in temples shall
be public, subject to the vigilance of the police, and the au-
thorities may exercise the function of their office when the case
demands it.
“Art. 13.-Religious institutions are free to organize hi-
erarchically as they please; but such organizations have no legal
status before the State except to invest the superiors of the
organizations in each locality with the representative character
referred to in article 15. No minister of any cult may therefore
present himself oficially as such to the authorities. He may
present himself only in the form and with the requisites with
which every citizen may exercise the right of petition.
SECOND SECTION..
“Art. 14.-No religious institution may acquire real estate, or
capital invested in real estate, excepting 'the temples to be used
immediately and directly in the public service of the cult and the
annex property which may be strictly necessary for such service.
"Art. 15.—The religious associations, represented in each
locality by their superiors, have the following rights:
I.-The right of petition
II.--The ownership of the temples acquired in conformity with
article 14. The laws of the State in which the buildings are
located shall determine on whom the right of ownership of the
temples shall fall should the property be abandoned or the
association dissolvea.
III.—The right of receiving alms or gifts, which may never be
made in real estate, titles, bonds or promises of future payment;
whether in the shape of bequests, testamentary donations,
legacies or any other kind of obligation of this sort, all which
are hereby declared void
". IV:-The right of receiving alms in the interior of the temples
by means of collectors appointed for such purpose, with the
understanding that outside the temples it is forbidden to appoint
such alms collectors, the appointed ones being included in article
415 of the Penal Code of the District, which article is hereby de-
clared in full force throughout the Republic.
25-
V.–The right assigned in the next article.
“Besides the abovesaid rights, the law does not grant any
others to religious societies as corporations.
"Art. 16.--The temples which according to the law of July
the 12th, 1859, were nationalized and which have been left to
the Catholic cult, as well as others which later may have been
ceded to any other religious institutions, shall continue to be-
long to the nation, but its exclusive use, conservation and im-
provement, will belong to the religious institutions to whom they
may have been ceded, as long as the consolidation of the property
shall not have been decreed
"Art. 17.—The buildings spoken of in the two former articles
shall be exempt of payment of contributions, except in case that
they should be constructed or acquired nominally or outright by
one or more individuals without transmitting them to a religious
society. The property in such case shall be governed according
to the common laws.
"Art. 18.—The buildings which do not belong to private in-
dividuals and which according to this section and the following
one should be regained by the nation, shall be transferred
according to the laws in force that control this matter.
E
THIRD SECTION.
“Art. 19.-The State does not recognize any monastic orders
nor can it permit their foundation, no matter what their de-
nomination may be nor the object for which they would be creat-
ed. The secret orders which may have been established shall be
considered as illegal and the authorities can disolve them,
should their members live together; in any case, their chiefs,
superiors and directors, will be judged as guilty of an infraction
of individual guarantees, in conformity with art. 963 of the Penal
Code of the District, which article is hereby declared in force
throughout the Republic.
"Art. 20.--The religious societies whose members live under
certain rules peculiar to themselves, under temporary or per-
petual promises or vows, and under the control of one or more
superiors, are regarded as monastic orders, subject to the
previous article, even though each member of the society should
have a dwelling apart from the others. Consequently, the first
and relevant declarations in the circular of the Ministry of the
Interior issued on the 28th of May, 1861, are hereby declared
null.
FOURTH SECTION
‘Art. 21.--The simple promises to tell the truth, and to fulfill
one's obligations, shall substitute the religious oath in its effects
and penalties; but either promise is a legal requisite only when
it is necessary to testify in a court, in which case the first
promise shall be offered; and the second shall be offered on
taking possesion of an official position. The latter will be made in
26
a formal oath, without any reserve, to obey and preserve the
political Constitution of the United States of Mexico with its
additions and reforms, and its laws." This oath shall be taken by
all those who take charge of a public office of the Federation, of
the States or of the Municipalities. In all other cases in which,
according to the laws, the religious oath had some civil con-
sequences, it has these no longer, even though it should be taken.
!
FIFTH SECTION.-
“Art. 22.-Marriage is a civil contract, and that as well as
other acts which fix the civil state of individuals, belong to the
realm of the functionaries of the civil order according to the laws,
and shall have the force and validity which the laws may give
them.
“Art. 23.—The right to legislate on the civil state of
the individuals, and to rule the manner in which the correspond-
ing acts shall be performed and recorded, belongs to the States,
but their resolution shall be subject to the following rules:
11.-The offices of the Civil Register shall be as numerous as it
may be necessary to accomodate all persons who may have need
of it, and must always be in charge of employees of tried ability
and honorability.
II.—The register of the acts of the civil state shall be entered
with accuracy, in separate entries, in books which will be under
the inspection of the political authorities. The inscription shall
be done with all necessary formalities which will guarantee au-
thenticity and the veracity of its records. They will not be allow-
ed to have erasurés, or corrections, or additions between lines,
and the remark (rejected) shall be placed' after every mistaken
record before signing it, and the new correct inscription shall be
recorded immediately following the erroneous one.
III.-These services incumbent on the civil state of persons
shall be entirely gratuitous, and a table of rates may be establish-
ed to exact payment only for those acts that could be performed
in the offices of the Civil Register, but which take place, for the
greater convenience of witnesses, in the homes of those interest-
ed, at their request, and for the burial in privileged plots of the
public cemeteries.
IV.—The officers of the Civil Register shall keep a duplicate
of their books in which there shall be no interruptions between
the records. Every six months this duplicate, legalized at the
bottom of the last entry, together with a statement of the num-
ber of pages it contains, every page signed on the margin, shall
be sent to the archives of the government of the State. Like-
wise and furthermore, they shall remit a notice of the acts
registered in a month
V.--All the acts of the Civil Register shall have a public char-
acter, and nobody shall be denied the inspection of the records.
27
1
VI.—The records of the Register will be the only proof of the
civil state of individuals, and will be considered legal in the
courts unless they can be proved to be forgeries.
VII.—Civil marriage may be celebrated by one man with only
ene woman. Bigamy and polygamy being crimes punishable by
law.
VIII.—The will of the contracting parties, freely expressed in
the form that the law shall establish, constitutes the essence of
civil marriage; consequently, the law shall protect the utterance
of such will and shall prevent any compulsion against it.
IX.—Civil marriage may be dissolved only by the death of
one of the consorts; but the law may permit temporary separa-
tion for serious reasons which shall be determined by the leg-
islature, this separation allowing neither consort to unite in wed-
lock with any one else.
X.-Marriage may not be contracted by persons who, for phys-
ical unfitness, cannot fulfill the object of that state; or by those
who, because of moral incapacity, are unable to express their
consent to it. Marriages performed in these cases shall be annul-
led by petition of one of the contracting parties.
XI.-Kinship, whether natural or legal, between descendants
and ancestors in direct line, or brothers, or step-brothers, shall
also prohibit their intermarriage and, when contracted in such
cases, shall nullify it.
XIÍ.—All cases brought by married couples before the civil
authorities as to the validity or nullity of marriage, or of
divorce, or other matters pertaining to their civil state, shall be.
carried on as the law may determine; and any resolutions that
may be dictated by the ministers of any cult on these questions,
shall have no legal effect.
XIII.--The law shall not impose or prescribe religious rites,
in respect to marriage. The married couples are free to receive
or not the blessings of the ministers of their religion, which
shall have no legal effect
XIV.-All cemeteries and places of burial will be under the
immediate inspection of the civil authorities even should they be
private enterprises. No establishment of the kind 'may be found
without license from the authorities. Burials or exhumations
may not be carried on without permission or written orders of
the authorities.
“Art. 24.-The civil state of a person registered in one State
or District, shall be recognized in all the others of the Republic.
1
SECTION SIXTH.
"Art. 25.—No one may be compelled to lend his personal
services without his full consent or without fair retribution. The
lack of consent, even when there should be retribution, con-
stitutes an attack against personal liberty; and the same holds
true should retribution be lacking when services have been lent,
- 28
with tacit or expressed consent, on condition of forthcoming
retribution
“Art. 26.-The State cannot admit the validity of any contract,
pact or agreement, by virtue of which a man may impair, lose or
irrevocably sacrifice his liberty, whether by reason of work, of
education, or of religious vows; no can it authorize pacts by
which a man agrees to his proscription or exile. All the con-
tracts which may be made in contravention of this article are null
and void and oblige those who accept them to indemnify the
losses and injuries caused.
GENERAL ORDERS.
' Art. 27.—It is in the power of the political authorities of the
States to impose the sentences of which this law treats. These
same authorities shall incur, before the governor of the State, the
double of these penalties, should they authorize or knowingly
tolerate any infringement of the laws. The Governors of the
States are responsible, in their turn, for any infractions of the
present law or ommission of the same committed by them or by
the authorities and officials subject under their orders.
"Art. 28.-Crimes committed against sections 1, 2, 3 and 6 of
this law are punishable by the federal laws and are under the
jurisdiction of the courts of the Federation; but the judges of the
States shall try them in all places where there is no District
Judge; carrying these cases on to the sentence which shall be
passed by the District Judge to whom they shall be sent. The
crimes committed against sections 4 and 5 shall be tried accord-
ing to the usual laws by the empowered authorities in each
locality.
“Art: 29.—The Laws of Reform are recast in this Law; but, as
regards the Civil Register, the Laws of Reform shall continue
in force until the States legislate in conformity with section 5.
They shall also continue in force in regard to the nationalization
and alienation of ecclesiastical property, and the payment of
dowries to ex-nuns, with the changes hereby made to art. 8 of
the law of the 25th. of June, 1856. Given at the Palace of the
Legislative Power, on the 10th of December, 1874.-Nicolás Le-
mus, President of the Chamber of Deputies. Antonio Gómez,
Deputy Secretary. Luis G. Alvírez, Deputy Secr. J. V. Villada,
Deputy Secr. Alejandro Prieto, Deputy Secr.”
Whereof I order it printed, published, circulated and obeyed.
Given at the Palace of the National Government, at Mexico City,
on the 14th. of December, 1874.
SEBASTIAN LERDO DE TEJADA.
:
29
SECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED
STATES OF MEXICO RELATIVE TO THE LAW
OF REFORM.-
1
Art. 5-
The State cannot admit the validity of any contract, pact or
agreement, by virtue of which a man impairs, loses or irrevocably
sacrifices his liberty, whether by reason of work, of education, or
of religious vows.
The law, consequently, does not recognize monastic orders,
nor can it permit their establishment, whatever be their de-
nomination, or the object with which they claim to be formed.
It cannot authorize pacts by which a man agrees to his proscrip-
tion or exile. (Reform of the 19th of June, 1898).
Art. 27.-..
Religious corporations or institutions, whatever be their char-
acter, denomination, duration or purpose, and civil institutions
under the patronage, direction or administration of the former,
or of ministers of any sect, will not have legal capacity to acquire
ownership or administration of real estate other than that of the
buildings which are immediately and directly destined to the
service or object of said corporations and institutions; nor will
they be legally authorized to acquire the ownership or admin-
istration of capital invested in real estate.
Civil corporations and institutions which are not comprised in
the foregoing case, may acquire ownership and administration,
not only of the buildings referred to, but of all real estate and
capital invested in same, which may be required for the mainten-
ance and end of said institutions, but subject to the requisites and
limitations which federal laws may establish through the Con-
gress of the Union. (Reform of the 14th of March, 1901).
30: