The limits of disciplinary power: the Conciliar Seminary and the formation of clergy in Puerto Rico (1805-1857)

By now, the transgressions of Puerto Rican clergy in the nineteenth century already constitute a topic of historiography. The different explanations for these entangled with the conceptual pair culture-nature. On the one hand, it is argued that in so far as they were men, as such, nature prompted th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Caribbean studies 2013-07, Vol.41 (2), p.3-30
Main Authors: Salcedo Chirinos, César Augusto, Foucault, Michel
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Subjects:
Clergy
Clergymen
Historical analysis
Magisterium
Power
Priests
Puerto Rico
Subjectivity
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Summary:By now, the transgressions of Puerto Rican clergy in the nineteenth century already constitute a topic of historiography. The different explanations for these entangled with the conceptual pair culture-nature. On the one hand, it is argued that in so far as they were men, as such, nature prompted them, while, on the other hand, they scarcely had an academic background. If both claims are to be sustained, nevertheless, how do we explain the sound behaviour of other such priests? How do we explain such things when the priests in question did have such a background? The present paper makes use of the constructionist theory of subjectivities to portray these clergymen as products of the limitations of the disciplinary power of the very church. Setting out with the claims of Foucault in mind, and based on a detailed prosopo-graphical study, we argue that the problem with the clergy was owed to the limitations inherent to the very institution in producing the subject conceived by the Magisterium, especially that of the Council of Trent and the local synod of 1645.
ISSN:0008-6533
DOI:10.1353/crb.2013.0022