{"id":11255,"date":"2015-08-06T06:04:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T06:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/how-junipero-serra-fought-the-death-penalty-for-a-california-native-25862\/"},"modified":"2015-08-06T06:04:00","modified_gmt":"2015-08-06T06:04:00","slug":"how-junipero-serra-fought-the-death-penalty-for-a-california-native","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2015\/08\/how-junipero-serra-fought-the-death-penalty-for-a-california-native\/","title":{"rendered":"How Junipero Serra fought the death penalty for a California native"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Monterey, Calif., Aug 6, 2015 \/ 12:04 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Blessed Junipero Serra\u2019s love for the natives of California extended even to those who killed one of his friends and fellow missionaries, the Archbishop of Los Angeles has said in a summary of an early argument against the death penalty for a native Californian.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn his appeals, he said some truly remarkable things about human dignity, human rights and the mercy of God,\u201d Archbishop Jose Gomez said in Kansas City, Kansas July 29.<\/p>\n

\tThe archbishop reflected on the Franciscan missionary\u2019s actions in the wake of a 1775 attack by California natives on the San Diego mission.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey burned the whole place down and they tortured and killed one of the Franciscans there, a good friend of Fray Junipero,\u201d Archbishop Gomez recounted.<\/p>\n

\tWhile the Spanish military wanted to arrest the natives and execute them, Father Junipero Serra repeatedly wrote to urge them to spare the accused.<\/p>\n

\tFather Serra, a Franciscan missionary, helped found many of the Californian missions that went on to become the centers of major cities. The California natives who joined the missions learned the faith, as well as the technologies and learning of Europe.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis will canonize Father Serra during his U.S. visit in September.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn his writings, we find deep love for the native peoples he had come to evangelize,\u201d Archbishop Gomez said of the missionary.<\/p>\n

\tThe Los Angeles archbishop reflected on one episode of the missionary\u2019s life in his keynote speech at the National Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference.<\/p>\n

\tFather Serra asked Spanish authorities to spare the lives of the California natives who had attacked the San Diego mission, even though they had killed several people.<\/p>\n

\tIn a Dec. 15, 1775 letter to the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio Maria de Bucareli y Ursua, the priest said, \u201clet the murderer live so he can be saved, which is the purpose of our coming here and the reason for forgiving him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe priest\u2019s letter went on to encourage not execution but rather what he characterized as \u201cmoderate punishment\u201d to help the killer understand that he is being pardoned by a law \u201cwhich orders us to forgive offenses and to prepare him, not for his death, but for eternal life.\u201d The letter is translated in the book Junipero Serra by Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz.<\/p>\n

\tFather Serra said that one of the most important things he himself requested was that \u201cif the Indians were to kill me \u2026 they should be forgiven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Gomez suggested that Father Serra was \u201cthe first person in the Americas \u2013 and maybe in all of the universal Church \u2013 to make a theological and moral argument against the death penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe said Father Serra and his fellow missionaries showed \u201ca passionate commitment to human life and human dignity.\u201d For Archbishop Gomez, Father Serra was \u201ca defender and protector of the native peoples,\u201d especially women, from the \u201csystematic violence\u201d of the Spanish military. Though many Europeans denied the natives\u2019 humanity, Father Serra drew up a \u201cbill of rights\u201d that called for justice and the promotion of human development.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Gomez drew a lesson from this, encouraging pro-life Catholic leaders to \u201cfollow in the path of the missionaries and saints of the Americas and to proclaim the Gospel of life, which is the heart of the message of Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Monterey, Calif., Aug 6, 2015 \/ 12:04 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Blessed Junipero Serra’s love for the natives of California extended even to those who killed one of his friends and fellow missionaries, the Archbishop of Los Angeles has said in a summa…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Junipero Serra fought the death penalty for a California native<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Monterey, Calif., Aug 6, 2015 \/ 12:04 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Blessed Junipero Serra’s love for the natives of California extended even to those who killed one of his friends and fellow missionaries, the Archbishop of Los Angeles has said in a summa...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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