Thanks afraidfortherepublic.
Posted on 05/03/2015 1:33:15 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Pope Francis weighed in on a thorny topic in California history Saturday when he spoke at length at a Rome Mass about Father Junipero Serra, the controversial California mission founder set to become America's first Latino saint later this year.
Addressing an audience that included many American priests, including Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, the pope referred to the 18th century Franciscan priest as “one of the founding fathers of the United States” and praised his willingness to abandon the comforts and privileges of his native Spain to spread the Christian message in the New World.
I wonder if today we are able to respond with the same generosity and courage to the call of God,” Francis said during a homily at Rome’s American seminary, the Pontifical North American College.
Francis will formally declare Serra a saint in September during the Washington, D.C., leg of his first visit to the United States. Although the Vatican has canonized Americans before, Serra will be the first saint canonized on U.S. soil.
In California, Serra has been criticized by native American activists for his role in a Spanish colonial system that mistreated and displaced indigenous people, and some have accused him of forcing people to convert to Catholicism. The state Senate voted last month to replace a statue of Serra in the U.S. Capitol with astronaut Sally Ride.
(Excerpt) Read more at touch.latimes.com ...
“...but certainly a founding father of California.”
Yes.
“St. Herman of Alaska would have to count, too.”
Well, maybe if there was a significant Russian population here as a result of him, I suppose.
Thanks afraidfortherepublic.
Whoops.
Serra was a father, a padre and he was a founder fundador, a founder of missions.
Do you not understand what a metaphor is?
Serra was the father of California as a Christian community and he resisted the royally appointed governor of California for interfering with evangelization.
Now the enemies of all forms of Christianity have united with anti-Catholics to erase him from history, and you are criticizing the Pope for praising him?
Get your mind right.
I went to a Jesuit university, and he embarrasses me.
His wife only shaves twice a month — I know that from personal communication.
Sorry, wrong thread.
Mine too, in Fresno, CA. I hope the California schools are still teaching early CA history and the missions.
With the influx of illegals, I’m sure they are.
:)
Which man?
Not necessarily. CA education has been seriously downgraded since the 70s.
But, the missions were an important part of the curriculum. 5th grade was devoted to it, and I think we touched on it again in 8th grade.
He didn’t say Serra was a founding father of California, he said he was a founding father of the United States. There was nothing metaphorical in what he claimed. Hence, my comment that the man is an idiot. My appraisal of him as an idiot is further buttressed by his position on the fiction of “global warming.” He is also all for redistribution of wealth.
Give John Paul II any day.
The guy had nothing to do with the United States and never set foot in it.
He was a part of the ugly Spanish/Catholic empire, which gave us the hell of Mexico and Latin America.
Pope Francis.
Read your history.
OK, why? Related to this upcoming canonization?
the pope was speaking of the new nation formed by catholic invaders from the south taking over what is presently the United
States
No Fr. Serra—California would have gone to the Russians—No Missions only onion domed Orthodox Churches like Alaska. If those Russians found the gold in the Motherload—it would still belong to Russia even now. We owe Serra That.
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