Over the years, I’ve read some biographies about Fr. Serra and his founding of the California missions.
Within the founding of these missions was the desire to convert the Indians to Catholicism and Western ways. It was met with some success but in some areas, there was brutality and some abuses by the priests and Spanish military authority.
Father Serra never ever approved of those abuses and frequently was at odds with the Spanish military authority over it. But Indian activists and white liberals see or acknowledge little of that. Instead Serra (because of his stature) is chosen as a whipping boy.
I knew that with all that’s been going on with the tearing down of statues across the nation,it’d only be a matter of time before Serra’s were next.
Father Serra never ever approved of those abuses and frequently was at odds with the Spanish military authority over it. But Indian activists and white liberals see or acknowledge little of that. Instead Serra (because of his stature) is chosen as a whipping boy.
No matter how hard they try, history cannot be whitewashed or erased.
The low information types never knew it and never will.
And can NEVER be paid off or appeased.