Carolus Horatii a Castorano (1673-1750) was a Franciscan Friar (O.F.M.) who ministered in China from 1715-1750. The majority of his time was spent in Beijing, where he ultimately became appointed as the Vicar General of Peking in 1733. He also was instrumental in the translations and presentations of Papal Constitutions regarding the interpretation of doctrines and practices during the Chinese Rites Controversy. He associated and worked closely with many prominent figures of the church and the imperial court in Beijing, including the Vincentian priest, Teodorico Pedrini (1671-1746), as well as the founder of the Collegio dei Cinesi (Chinese College) at the University of Naples, Matteo Ripa (1682-1746). He attended numerous audiences with the Qing emperors of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, earning him at times, either the favor or the censure of the imperial court. The inconsistent treatment he found at court was the product of a political struggle that emerged between the Jesuits, who had long maintained a presence in the imperial court, and those that belonged to other orders, namely the Franciscans or the Dominicans, who were relatively new arrivals. While generally, the controversy hinged on how accommodating the church or its doctrines should be for the dramatically different culture of China, the specifics of this rivalry encompassed a complex of issues. There was more at stake than a political advantage or a moral victory; many of these missionaries, it must be kept in mind, committed their entire adult life to their ministries in China, making this competition between different orders highly personal. In the following translation, the personal nature of this rivalry is illustrated in a few ways. The document is a kind of unofficial testimony collected by Castorano, a Franciscan, concerning the abuse or corruption of a Jesuit priest against the Chinese Christian, Paolo Cing (Chen). This document is contained in the hand-written volume, Monumenta Papyracea Sinesia, held in the Special Collections of the Holy Name Library of the Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University.
"The 14th Day of the 1st Month in the 7th Year of the Reign of Qianlong.
The Holy Father Fan at the Catholic Church of Wei Village presided over the members of the church in the area of Zhending Prefecture (Hebei Province). A certain Paolo Chen traveled to Wei Village and asked the Holy Father to come and minister to his sick mother-in-law for a few days. The Holy Father Fan did not say that he would go, but he also did not say he would not go. Paolo Chen continued to beseech the Holy Father, saying, “Will you go my lord, or will you not go my lord? The journey is long and the illness is severe. If my lord, you will not go, then this lowly sinner will ask another Holy Father to go.” Upon hearing these words, The Holy Father Fan became agitated and caught sight of the necklace (scapular) around Paolo’s neck, from which hung a small bag made from the holy cloth of the Our Lady of Sorrows Order. He then asked Paolo, “What is in that pouch around your neck?” Paolo answered, “It is the holy cloth of the Our Lady of Sorrows Order.” Upon hearing these words, the Holy Father Fan again became very agitated, and became angry, condemning Paolo, saying, “Is it you who have been proselyting the Our Lady of Sorrows Order? You are the one who has been manufacturing these strips of fabric? Generously giving a piece to this person and a piece to that person? It is you who have been proselyting the Our Lady of Sorrows Order? All of this is a sacrilege of our doctrine. Such things are not for the instruction of underlings.” Thereupon, he tied Paolo down atop a wooden bench and began to beat him. Then, Chapel Leader Xie Fangji (Francis) and Chapel Leader Li Fengrui beseeched the Holy Father, kowtowing repeatedly more than a few times, begging for mercy, whereupon he stopped after a few more beatings with a stick."
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