United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Santos v. Roman Catholic Church, 212 U.S. 463 (1909)

Santos v. Roman Catholic Church

No. 73

Submitted January 13, 1909

Decided February 23, 1909

212 U.S. 463

Syllabus

A finding by the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands that the parties sued as defendants do not constitute a judicial entity such as a cofradia is not open to reexamination in this Court.

Where the reasons of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands for refusing to grant a new trial on ground of newly discovered evidence

Page 212 U. S. 464

do not appear, their sufficiency must be presumed, and the question is not open in this Court.

The Roman Catholic Church has a legal personality and the capacity to hold property in the insular possessions of the United States, and this right is not affected by the fact that the property was acquired by gift or from the public funds. Ponce v. Roman Catholic Church, 210 U. S. 296.

The facts are stated in the opinion.