Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Exploring OC

We went to San Juan Capistrano, a short distance from our base.  I had visited the mission in 1971, but apparently forgotten any details. This statue struck a chord with me, the role of the Catholic church in general, and Father Serra's part in particular, of the subjugation and exploitation of the Native tribes.


I dubbed this one "I give you the gifts of slavery and smallpox." 

The Catholic church made this fellow a saint. Here's an example of his writing:  "that spiritual fathers should punish their sons, the Indians, with blows appears to be as old as the conquest of the Americas; so general in fact that the saints do not seem to be any exception to the rule."
PBS  'The West'

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9 comments:

  1. The CrowAugust 5, 2015 at 8:39 AM

    Well...hmmmm...that wasn't exactly my first interpretation of the statue.

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    1. Should Fish MoreAugust 6, 2015 at 7:52 AM

      Yeah, well I tend to be rather harsh in my view of the church.

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    2. The CrowAugust 6, 2015 at 8:35 AM

      So do I, with good reason. The statue gives me the creeps.

      Delete
  2. JonoAugust 5, 2015 at 11:09 AM

    Apparently, "saint" has a lot of different meanings.

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  3. Joanne NoragonAugust 5, 2015 at 2:39 PM

    And how long until his statue is replaced, do you suppose in our effort to tidy up history?

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    1. Should Fish MoreAugust 6, 2015 at 7:51 AM

      Since the church has already made him a saint, it might be awhile. I'm not sure it'd be 'tidying up' history, maybe recognising what actually happened in history vs. the church's version.

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  4. susanAugust 6, 2015 at 1:38 PM

    It's too bad the Native Americans didn't build that border wall while there was still time.

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    1. Should Fish MoreAugust 6, 2015 at 8:37 PM

      I know, right?
      Emily (the youngest) got me a t-shirt some years ago, a picture of 4 probable SW Indian men taken around the turn of the century, holding rifles, with the caption: "Fighting Terrorism Since 1492"

      Delete

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