And after that will the Hawaii senate vote to have Saint Damien removed from the Capitol Statuary hall too? And will Wisconsin turn on Pere Marquette, and Arizona on Father Kino? All of these great men, honored by their states with a statue at the Capitol, were missionaries to the American Indians. Are they now an embarrassment to our nation? Will the state of Washington topple Mother Joseph from the same place of honor? She, too, was a missionary to the Northwest region, establishing five schools for Indian children, not to mention numerous hospitals and orphanages. Surely, it is no accident that the California senate is launching this iconoclastic assault at this precise time, just months before the Holy Father canonizes Father Serra during his visit to the United States. The crime is not a done deal yet; but I suspect that it will be — and that will be soon.
CNA: As the U.S. prepares for Pope Francis’ trip later this year, one Vatican official says efforts to remove the statue of Spanish missionary Blessed Junipero Serra from the capital offers a poor welcome for history’s first Latin American pontiff.
California’s recent vote to replace the statue of the Franciscan missionary from the National Statuary Hall is “shocking,” especially ahead of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit, said Dr. Guzman Carriquiry Lecour, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. More on this here.
