Tag: serra canonization
“We are Stunned” Lopez Tells CNN
“We are stunned and we are in disbelief,” Valentin Lopez told CNN after the canonization of Junipero Serra in Sept. 23, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Native Americans Make Last Ditch Plea to Stop Serra Canonization
Native American activists and advocates met Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Washington, D.C., for one last-ditch effort to draw attention to their objection over the canonization of 18th-century Franciscan friar Junípero Serra. Read details in the National Catholic Reporter
Letter to Pope Francis, Sept. 2015
In a letter to Pope Francis outlining the reasons the Amah Mutson people oppose the canonization of Junipero Serra, Tribal ChairmanValentin Lopez says “Undoubtedly what puzzles and hurts us most is how the Catholic Church has ignored the humanity of our ancestors.” Read: Letter to the Pope Sept 2015
Call In: Valentin Lopez in a Discussion of Serra’s Canonization
Public Radio Station KALW featured Aman Mutsun Tribal Chairman Valentin Lopez in a discussion of the issues surrounding Junipero Serra during the program Call In on Sept. 14, 2015. Listen at http://kalw.org/term/elias-castillo#stream/0
How Tarnished is Serra’s Halo?
A report written by Vinnie Rotondaro in the National Catholic Reporter explores the controversy surrounding Junipero Serra
Tribal Chairmen’s Assn. Letter Opposing Serra Canonization
The Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, in an August 2015 letter to Pope Francis, opposes the canonization of the Franciscan Friar Junipero Serra. Fr. Serra was responsible for founding and building, by means of the forced labor of our Native ancestors, nine of the twenty-one Spanish Catholic missions that were eventually built on the traditional Read more…
Is America’s New Saint More of a Sinner?
The Amah Mutsun opposition to canonizing Junipero Serra is part of story reported by Public Radio International, a nonprofit orgaization whose content attracts nearly 19 million people around the world each month. “We’ve asked The Pope to work with our tribal members to begin a healing process. And we have not heard back from him,” Valentin Lopez, chairman Read more…
Association of Tribal Governments Letter Opposing Serra Sainthood
The California Association of Tribal Governments has written a letter to Richard Garcia, Bishop of the Diocese of Monterey, Ca., “with our hope and prayers that someone with influence within the Catholic Church may advise his Holiness Pope Francis to reevaluate his decision to canonize Friar Junipero Serra,” and asking for a meeting to reevaluate Read more…
Letter to Gov. Jerry Brown August, 2015
August 31, 2015 Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. c/o State Capitol. Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: Open Letter Regarding the Canonization and symbolism of Junipero Serra YOU MAY SIGN A PETITION ON THIS REQUEST TO GOV, JERRY BROWN AT CHANGE.ORG Dear Governor Brown, My name is Valentin Lopez and Read more…
Petition California Gov. Jerry Brown to Oppose Canonizing Junipero Serra
Please go to Change.org to sign our petition urging California Gov. Jerry Brown to acknowledge the dark history of Serra’s missions and oppose the canonization of Junipero Serra. The petition also urges Brown to encourage the Legislature to take meaningful action to include accurate accounts of what Indians endured at the missions in school curriculae and state Read more…
California’s Saint, and a Church’s Sins
An opinion piece by New York Times writer Lawrence Downes describes opposition to the canonization of Junipero Serra. The piece quotes Valentin Lopez, chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band: “How can Pope Francis and the Catholic Church speak or act with moral authority when they know that they have mistreated the indigenous people?” and the Read more…
Letter fro Steven Newcomb to Gov. Jerry Brown
Steven Newcomb, author and co-foundeer of the Indigenous Law Institute, challenges California Gov. Jerry Brown to oppose canonization of Junipero Serra. Earlier the governor called Serra “one of the innovators and pioneers of California” in a letter July, 2015. Letter from Steven Newcomb to Gov. Brown
Pope Overlooks Cultural Genocide in Canonizing Junipero Serra
Critics say that Pope Francis, who recently called attention to the 1915 genocide against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, has a blind spot when it comes to the brutal Spanish conquest of the Americas. After the announcement that Junipero Serra, founder of California’s missions, would be canonized in September, 2015, Vatican officials argued that Serra Read more…
Sainthood for Founder of California Missions Angers Native American Groups
Members of several Native American groups gathered on Easter Sunday at the historic Carmel Mission to protest the proposed canonization of Franciscan priest Junipero Serra, who is buried there. The gathering sought to honor their ancestors who were also buried at the mission nearly 250 years ago after being stripped of their kinship ties, culture Read more…
Letter from Mary Valdemar Opposing Serra Sainthood
“Although I believe that much good work is done within the church, today I am here as one of many Catholics who oppose the canonization of Serra,” Mary Valdmar, co founder of Chicano Indigenous Community for Culturally Conscious Advocacy and Action (ChICCCAA) told a Santa Barbara gathering in May, 2015.
Letter to Gov. Jerry Brown Regarding Serra Canonization
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman Valentin Lopez has asked Gov. Jerry Brown to join the tribe in opposing the canonization of Junipero Serra. The request was made in a letter delivered to the Governor’s Office July 17, 2015.Letter to Gov Brown re Serra
Sign the Petition Opposing Serra Canonization
Thousands already have signed a petition urging Pope Francis not to canonize Junipero Serra. We have until his Sept. 22 visit to the United States to send our message to the Pope.
Demanding the pope’s attention
San Jose Mercury News, July 12, 2015 By Tracy Seipel Several hundred people gathered at Mission San Juan Bautista July 11 calling for the Vatican to halt it’s plans to canonize Junipero Serra, founder of the California Missions. “The true history of what happened here has never been told,” said Valentin Lopez, chairman of the Read more…
Letter to Pope Francis regarding the Encyclical July 1, 2015
Letter-to-Pope-Francis-re-Encyclical-1 July 2015 The Amah Mutsun’s Response supporting the Catholic Church Encyclical on the Environment and reiterating the request that the Pope reverse his decision to canonize Junipero Serra. Respuesta de Amah Mutsun a la Encíclica de la Iglesia Católica con relación al Medio Ambiente (en Español)