2, May 2015 Junípero Serra, saint or villain?
An explosive
new book by Elias Castillo, ‘A Cross of Thorns: The Enslavement of
California's Indians by the Spanish Missions,” dispels the myth that the 21 Franciscan
missions in California were idyllic sites where Franciscan padres and Native Americans lived in
complete harmony. Castillo asserts that the missions, under Junípero Serra’s
direction, were instructed to civilize the ‘savage’ Indians by unrelenting
beatings. Drawing on extensive research he reveals the dark, sordid secrets
that the missions have kept under wraps for over 100 years.
Anthony Morales,
Chief Redblood of the Gabrielino Tongva Band of Mission Indians supported
Castillo’s assertions and blasted the pope’s decision to canonize Junípero Serra. He stated “On all
the 21 missions along the coast our people were enslaved, beaten, tortured and
our women raped. It was forced labor and a forced religion; there's nothing
saintly about the... atrocities on our culture, on our people."
Father Serra justified the beating of Native Americans, writing in 1780:
"That spiritual fathers should punish their sons, the Indians, with
blows;” making a comparison to the treatment of Native Indians in the conquest
of the Americas – and therefore justifiable.
Morales demanded that the pontiff reverse his decision. Junipera Serra
Highway should also be renamed to assuage the sentiments of native Indians who
were, arguably, far more spiritual than their “Christian benefactors.”
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