Catholic Group Threatens Litigation Over BLM Attempts To Remove References To Famous California Priest

Religion Clause ^ | 8/7/20 | Howard Friedman

[marshmallow]

One of the historical figures now seen as problematic by the Black Lives Matter Movement is the 18th century Catholic priest Father Junipero Serra, who was canonized in 2015 by Pope Francis during his trip to the United States. As explained by an RNS article earlier this year:

While Serra is credited with spreading the Catholic faith across what is now California, critics say Serra was part of an imperial conquest that beat and enslaved Native Americans.

Serra, who was born in Spain, came to the Americas in 1749, and in 1769 he founded the first of what would become 21 missions along the California coast.

Native Americans brought into the mission to be evangelized were not allowed to leave the grounds. Many labored for no pay. There is evidence of beatings, imprisonment and other abuse at the hands of the missionaries.

In light of this, the city of San Buenaventura last month voted to remove a statue of Serra that stands in front of City Hall. Recently efforts have been made to remove Serra from the city's police badges and the Ventura County seal. The Thomas More Society contends that these moves are anti-Catholic, and this week it sent a demand letter (full text) to the city and county, saying in part:

.....should Ventura remove Fr. Serra from its Seal, its Police Badges, or any other similar prominent municipal location, we will bring a claim seeking to enjoin such conduct under the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and seek our attorneys’ fees. Our firm was lead counsel in defending the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego—which proudly still stands today—and we have extensive experience in ensuring that our attorneys’ fees are paid when we prevail. Thank you for considering the below as you take subsequent action during.......

[HighSierra5]

All of this anti Catholic/Christian rhetoric has had criminal consequences. Haven’t heard much about the investigation of the arson at the San Gabriel mission. Shameful.

[hanamizu]

“Black Lives Matter Movement is the 18th century Catholic priest Father Junipero Serra,...”

---

I imagine there were very few blacks in 18th-century California. Why should BLM care about Fr. Serra unless it is a part of something much larger in scope? And what would that something be—hmmm?

[MurphsLaw]

Exactly that same thought hit me.... There WERE NO blacks- of any numbers- in California until AFTER the civil war....
Junipers Serra had NOTHING to do African American slavery-mans his mission preceded any of that by decades...if not a century...
BLM is attempting to speak for people who do not share their oppressed victimhood.... What’s next ... They gonna want all the Chinese people to leave San Francisco? Certainly they have to answer for their propagation on the west coast displacing the indigenous as well.....
Probably not we can guess.....

[mosesdapoet]

Get this news out there which MSM won’t
LOOK WHO IS USING CHINESE SLAVES
Pro-Black Lives Matter Corporations
many are Using Chinese Slave Labor
in their factorys in that moslem province
using prractices which Trump condemed
7/9/2020, 2:25:08 PM · by yoe
Daniel Greenfield/Sultan of Knish ^reports on
| July 9, 2020 | Coca-Cola CEO
would like you to know that it cares
about oppression and believes America is evil.
In a rambling statement by CEO James Quincey*
check out these postings in http://www.freerepublic.com/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3868414/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3861557/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers.com/3863465/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2863322/posts
Most of this is happening in the area where Turkmen live
who are racially different

[norwaypinesavage]

"Native Americans brought into the mission to be evangelized were not allowed to leave the grounds. Many labored for no pay. There is evidence of beatings, imprisonment and other abuse at the hands of the missionaries."

Fake News from centuries ago. Along the Saint Anthony (San Antonio) river in San Antonio there 5 missions from the same era, centuries ago. They consist of a large church building, an equally large grainery for storing food, and fort walls containing living quarters for the natives and priests. The missions are far too small for the fields for growing crops, and the natives would leave the missions to daily work in the fields.

No one was compelled to stay. They lived there for the safety of the walls for protection from invading non-friendly native groups, and for storage of their food over the seasons. It's obvious that the white snowflakes running the BLM riots have never learned REAL history.