Text: Northern Autumn
Edited by Beiqiu
García Moreno believes that the garcianismo was formed to oppose the atmosphere of anarchy and chaos that prevailed in Ecuador throughout the first phase of the republic. Its purpose was to expand the foundations of the state and advance the Catholic civilization project, while at the same time trying to restore the Church as an entity closely linked to the state, restoring its pastoral power.
Unlike the projects of Baroque modernity, which were implemented in some parts of Latin America at the initiative of the Jesuits, the projects were in line with the idea of progress and met the development requirements of commercial capital, plantations and landowners.
1. The state of emergency of Catholic modernity
Benigno Marlo, a prominent public figure of the nineteenth century, declared before García Moreno's promotion to the second term of justice that there were two political schools in Ecuador: the Constitutional School and the Dictatorial School. The first is based on respect for the established order. While not denying the need for reform, he believes they should be done through parliamentary channels.
The dictatorial school puts all power in the hands of the dictator, declaring the theory of the inadequacy of the constitution and laws as a means of the government and proposing the need to violate them. Once the state of emergency was consolidated, the first thing García Moreno did was to reform and develop the existing institutions, placing them on the basis of his centralized project.
In order to strengthen the state to promote moral reform of the clergy, it strengthened the family system, modernized the police and prison systems, broadened the educational base – including the women, artisan and Indian levels It changed the public charity and charity system to make it more meaningful. These are not only quantitative changes, which can be measured by the number of schools, prisons or medical facilities, but also from the government's point of view.
A medium-term project is being discussed, in which the "force of law" must be accompanied by pastoral action. The later stages of the project were defined in terms of a state of siege or emergency, justifying deterrent action in cases where the law was inadequate
Taking into account their long experience in setting up aid, rehabilitation and control institutions in Europe, institutions specialized in life management. As mentioned above, Concordat promotes the existence of a religious order, with the aim of strengthening relations with the Holy See and all its symbolic importance, as well as ensuring the cooperation of the Church in establishing Catholic modernity.
García Moreno was aware of the role played by the Church and Catholic corporations in improving and controlling Xi. "The freedom enjoyed by the Church in the Concordat and the Constitution, as well as the zeal and piety of its illustrious and respected bishops, gradually introduced reforms in the clergy and thus improved Xi," he said.
In this process, the actions of the police as a national force are complemented by the Church and its extension in the space of everyday life, that is, the family. The focus on moral behavior and intention, with an emphasis on confession, guilt, and guilt, is intended to strengthen the pastoral activity of the Church, as is the celebration of the sacraments.
Manifestos and public ceremonies – involving high-ranking officials of the state and the Church – aimed at the establishment of a Catholic state, and one of the highlights was Ecuador's dedication to the Heart of Jesus in 1873.
For García Moreno, it is impossible to think of the progress of the country without improving the Xi and discipline of individuals and peoples, which can only be achieved through the continuous action of generations, the repressive institutions of the state and the Church, and their education, indoctrination and control centers.
García Moreno is interested in the development of reason in the "modern" sense, capable of restructuring the lives of individuals and corporations. For García Moreno, Catholicism was the only way to unite the nation and drive progress.
It is a proposal to train different control systems for daily life and contribute to the development of the public sphere in the country. Marked by Catholicism, it can be understood only in the context of a dispute with liberalism, which is interested in the establishment of a secular order and autonomous public opinion
The discipline of the clergy, as it speaks, of the domestic police, is an important part of this process of state organization, but it is the result of trends within the Holy See. The Archbishop of Quito, José María Jerovi, has been one of the promoters of moralization in Ecuador since he became a priest in the first years of García Moreno's administration.
During his formative years, Jerovi was inspired by Loyola and made prayer, a sense of obedience, and self-correction the axes of his life. Ignatius' spiritual Xi was a tool for the moral perfection of the clergy and the basis for the re-establishment of pastoral power. These exercises Xi popularized and practiced by Jerovy.
A few years before the return of the Jesuits: exercising in obedience, I knew the psychology and art of command. I know that personal promotion effectively replaces explicit commands. Kind and sweet in punishment and, above all, he tries to conquer the misguided priest, binding him with love so that he can be corrected more easily and triumphantly.
As the spiritual director of the religious conceptual order, he does try to develop in them absolute separation, "even the pious image they give to the cell." This leads to the idea that before García Moreno there existed a current in favor of the moral perfection of the religious order, based on confession, renunciation, self-restraint and self-control, but also possibly personal devotion.
In general, whether the conscience check contributes to the formation of the modern subject, the biography of the priest shows the extent to which the rise expresses the conservative renewal of the Ecuadorian clergy.
When it comes to Catholic modernity, the emphasis is on the image of the ruler, but the fact that many institutions of the Church are immersed in it, especially orders like the Good Shepherd or the Sisters of Charity, which are considered positive, modern commands.
The presence of a religious order brought from the outside was promoted, aimed at achieving the cooperation of the Church in the construction of the state. García Moreno was aware of the role played by the Church and the Catholic corporation in managing the poor. Not only working with the most modern parts of the church, training its members through self-persuasion or coercion, but also considering it a pillar of his project to change the Xi of the people.
Many clergy were tolerant of the disintegration of pagan popular forms of religious belief and Xi, although they were not involved. García Moreno is dedicated to the organization of modern institutions specialized in local government, which are of an experimental nature, urban or city-oriented operations, involving Catholic orders.
These include missions in shelters, schools, boarding schools, hospitals and public welfare institutions, prisons and detention centres, in the east and elsewhere. The modernity of these institutions, which includes not only advances in medicine, criminology, social welfare or pedagogy, but also the renewal of the Christian concept of charity and service.
Charities must cease to be gifts to the poor, not to demand anything in return, but to become public charities and means of intervening in the bodies of the people. The "universalization" of the education system and the rationalization of philanthropy are not only advances in progress, but also in philanthropy. If philanthropy is considered the responsibility of those who have the greatest responsibility for the poor.
As part of the common order, in a certain baroque sense, part of the action of the state, and therefore part of modern reason, concerned with the management of life in all its forms, without losing his pastoral and Christian consciousness. García Moreno questions precisely the way the clergy operates, precisely because of his relaxation and indifference to sheep. Their tolerance of popular religious manifestations, their lack of sacredness, and their interest in secular things were detrimental to the interests of the Church.
This may have affected mainly the low-ranking clergy, whose beliefs and Xi were strongly influenced by the popular culture to which they belonged, their participation in cults and festival systems, and their departure from monasteries to live among ordinary people, in many cases forming their own families.
2. True philanthropy
Since colonial times, the church has played an important role in providing resources for philanthropy. Individuals also contributed to the "drudgery" census funds, which were used to meet the needs of cults or help "neighbors in need."
While helping the poor helps to increase the material and spiritual strength of the church, these goals are not necessarily clear-cut: charity is seen as a selfless action or service, in a symbolic economy. By putting a tenth of the proceeds under state control and redistributing them to guarantee the functioning of the church, as well as welfare homes and centers.
In Catholic education, García Moreno is drastically changing the way the state works and how the relationship with the population is conceived, thus responding to the reformist currents that exist in many places, but using the full power of sovereign power to achieve it. In particular, charities are no longer equivalent to giving donations or handouts to the poor, but have become public philanthropic resources for the poor, especially the urban population.
This did not replace the actions of the Church or private benefactors, but led them to a more precise line, that of state administration. In fact, the organization of major charitable centers, such as hospices, is entrusted to the Catholic order, but with the resources and strategies prescribed by the state. In parallel with the development of the country's police and administrative structures and the normative system associated with them, efforts are made to strengthen the state welfare system managed by the Church, updating and developing them in the science of pastoral and active social intervention.
The act of aid went through two seemingly opposite processes: on the one hand, Catholic innovation, and on the other hand, biopolitical integration. In fact, these are not opposing games associated with tradition and modernity, but are part of the same process. The San Juan de Dios Hospital, reorganized by Garc ía Moreno, contributed to the development of the Ecuadorian hospital system and medical sciences.
Experimentation with patients and the use of desanctified corpses – as a medical teaching resource that connects hospitals and universities – allowed Ecuador to enter another phase of medicine. Innovations in the field of hospitals, services and social rehabilitation were promoted, while there was a call for the restoration of the true meaning of Christian charity, which, according to García Moreno, had lost in the first phase of the republic.
Philanthropy should express itself in a practical way, taking care of those most in need; Especially those who are capitalized by the church. The charity became above all an instrument of moral discipline, while the Church and the Catholic charities found a renewed means through social intervention, which would take radical forms after the death of García Moreno
Philanthropy organized from the beginning of the reform is related to the early development of government. It refers to hospices, where the mad, the elderly, and the dying are left unprotected, or the good shepherds where many women are held. In addition to the hospital's services, the Sisters of Charity are responsible for caring for and directing the slaughterhouse and prison in Santa Marta. In all these areas, the State simultaneously carries out activities of surveillance and moral control, as well as population differentiation and separation.
Through Garcianism, conservation action comes from the state and the companies associated with it, through a new type of connection that can be described as modern. In this sense, charities, which are seen as public charities, become the ideology and mechanism of the state. For this reason, García Moreno supports the development of the congregation responsible for training the people.
Some congregations have played a renewing role in this regard by focusing on the organization of boarding schools, arts and crafts schools, improvement of hospitals and shelters, and rehabilitation centers for orphans and vulnerable groups.
The day-to-day relationship of the priest with the parish population is both pastoral and civil. This helped to build a Catholic community and common sense that supported the moral action of the church and the state, while also promoting the idea of progress. Garcianism also sought to consolidate the dependencies established by charities, but under the hegemony of the Catholic state. In most of the cases studied, active congregations of nuns continued to sign contracts with the government and receive payments from so-called pensioners.
It is an administrative network generated by society but dominated by the state, which links the various aspects of the central government, municipalities, welfare homes, congregations, private charities and the police - that is, the city, health and parish police. For García Moreno, Catholicism was the only possibility to integrate the country and advance progress without abandoning order.