The fortunes of Cardenas varied considerably, but on the whole his
extraordinary versatility kept him afloat in the public estimation. He
at one time, however, very nearly incurred the popular resentment owing
to his having taken up the body of a suicide, and caused it to be
interred in holy ground from the force of a mere whim. The uproar
consequent on this he managed to overrule, and having got the better of
Don Gregorio, the Civil Governor, the Bishop actually elected himself
Governor in his place, and now became supreme in Asuncion, from which
place the Jesuits were forced to flee in haste to their establishments
in the country.
Each side now brought endless charges against the other, and in the
middle of the wordy warfare the validity of Cardenas's appointment to
the Bishopric was questioned. Nevertheless, Cardenas succeeded in
retaining his office, and after a while issued a declaration
excommunicating the entire Order of the Jesuits, after which, having
sworn to the people that he possessed a Decree from the King of Spain,
he issued an order commanding the expulsion of the Jesuits from
Paraguay. This was carried into effect at Asuncion, and the College of
the Order was sacked and gutted by fire.
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