And by Saturday afternoon another Serra statue was toppled at Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles.

"Pull it! Pull it! This is for our ancestors," a person shouted.

In a video of the San Francisco toppling, people can be heard cheering as the statue of the 18th-century Franciscan priest holding a cross fell to the ground. People strike and kick the statue in the video, and it's clear the statue has also been tagged and splashed with what appears to be red paint.

Meanwhile, in the city of Ventura, the mayor, a pastor and a tribal leader announced in a letter that a statue of Serra near Ventura City Hall would be removed. This announcement was made after an online petition demanded the statue be taken down.

"Serra is not the historical hero people thought when this landmark statue to him was erected, one of many throughout California, as a historical emblem, he is toxic and should be removed," the petition reads.

In the wake of Black Lives Matter demonstrations, statues honouring Christopher Columbus and Confederate leaders have also been defaced and toppled.

In light of these nationwide events, Californians are once again re-evaluating their statues of Serra — who led the Catholic Church's missionary efforts among Native Americans on the West Coast.

Serra in 2015 was canonized as a saint by Pope Francis during a trip to the U.S.

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 laboured for no pay. There is evidence of beatings, imprisonment and other abuse at the hands of the missionaries.

Serra defenders say it's unfair to judge him by 21st-century standards. They say he frequently pleaded for more merciful treatment for the Native Americans under their control.

Months before Serra was canonized, Cliff Trafzer, director of UC Riverside's California Center for Native Nations and a history professor, told the Press-Enterprise in Riverside that the church continued to ignore the Indigenous American viewpoint on Serra.

"Father Serra represents the invasion of California and the taking of native lands," he told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez, in the Los Angeles Times, said Serra was an inspiration in his ministry.

"He preached God's compassion, fought for the dignity of women and the rights of America's native peoples, and he was probably the first person in the Americas to make a moral case against capital punishment," Gómez said.

The Catholic News Agency detailed how Serra asked Spanish authorities to spare the lives of the California natives who had attacked a San Diego mission.

In Ventura, the letter announcing the removal of the Serra statue was signed by Mayor Matt LaVere; Father Tom Elewaut, pastor at the San Buenaventura Mission Church; and Julie Tumamait Stenslie, tribal chair of Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians (Chumash).

"We have listened and we have heard the calls from those in the community and believe the time has come for the statue to be taken down and moved to a more appropriate non-public location," the letter reads.

"We all believe that the removal of the statue should be accomplished without force, without anger, and through a collaborative, peaceful process."

• Kimberly Winston and David Gibson contributed to this report. First published in RNS.

He was "ahead of his time" in defending the rights of indigenous peoples," they say.

Those who called for statues of him to be removed or torn down "failed the test" of history.

"The movement to confront racism within our society during these past weeks has been, at times, challenging," the California Catholic Conference of Bishops says.

"But it has provided bold new hope for every American that our nation can begin to transform key elements of our racist past and present."

The bishops said they "vigorously and wholeheartedly support" efforts to identify and repair historical instances of racism against members of the African-American and Native American communities.

At the same time, they point out if statues and other public images are to be removed, the history of the individuals must be considered.

"If this process is to be truly effective as a remedy for racism, it must discern carefully the entire contribution that the historical figure in question made to American life, especially in advancing the rights of marginalized peoples.

"What is happening to our society? A renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism," Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement June 20.

Cordileone emphasized the importance of calls for racial justice and an end to police brutality, which began after the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.

"Everyone who works for justice and equality joins in the outrage of those who have been and continue to be oppressed," the archbishop said.

"It is especially true that followers of Jesus Christ - Christians - are called to work tirelessly for the dignity of all human beings," he added, noting that St. Francis of Assisi, for whom San Francisco was named, is "one of history's most iconic figures of peace and goodwill."

"For the past 800 years, the various Franciscan orders of brothers, sisters and priests that trace their inspiration back to him have been exemplary of not only serving, but identifying with, the poor and downtrodden and giving them their rightful dignity as children of God," Cordileone said.

"St. Junipero Serra is no exception."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: America Magazine

The statues were torn down Friday evening from Golden Gate Park, by a group of about 100 people.

During the eighteenth century, the saint founded nine Catholic missions in the area that would later become California, many of those missions would go on to become the centers of major California cities. Read more

It's a reminder that with social media and modern communications there is ever greater accessibility to the "human" side of contemporary saints.

In some cases the hostility is between those responsible for a particular Cause. Here are five of the more controversial saints in the making.

Dorothy Day

The profile of Dorothy Day has been raised considerably since the Pope spoke warmly of her during his visit to America a few weeks ago. This has given hope to those who for the last 25 years have campaigned for her beatification.

Dorothy Day is a controversial figure and many claim that she should not be beatified because she had an illegitimate child and an abortion. But for those who find her an inspiration, she is an example and encouragement.

It is precisely because her story is one of transformation in the love of God that people find her so appealing. Day provides a role model and gives hope to women who have had abortions.

Her own post-abortion grief led her to have a great compassion for women in similar situations who experienced the guilt and pain of loss.

In 1930 Dorothy Day met Peter Maurin and shortly afterwards they founded the Catholic Worker Movement, which became a lifeline to thousands during the worst period of the Great Depression.

This involved the running of Houses of Hospitality, soup kitchens and caring for those made homeless.

Day's life story has been the subject of many films and books. In 1996 the film Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story was released to critical acclaim.

Dorothy Day has been given the title of Servant of God and her supporters hope that the forthcoming Year of Mercy may be a catalyst for the process to move forward towards canonisation. Continue reading

Source and Image:

• Catholic Herald, from an article by Fr Matthew Pittam, a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

The vandalism of the statue of St Junipero at Carmel Mission, where he is buried, came three days after the canonisation in Washington, DC.

Vandals damaged statues, gravesites and signs and poured green and white paint on doors, police said.

"Saint of Genocide" was written on a headstone, paint was splashed on a toppled St Junipero statue and headstones were splattered with dark red paint.

A police report noted that the paint splattered on gravesites was on graves of Europeans, not Native Americans.

The vandalism occurred the night before a Mass was celebrated at the Carmel Mission honouring the saint.

Volunteers cleaned up most of the destruction before the Mass began.

The Facebook page for the Carmel Mission put out a call for volunteers to help clean up after discovering the destruction on September 27.

A post urged prayers that "the people who did this take responsibility for their actions on this sacred property and that they seek reconciliation".

St Junipero is a controversial figure, with some Native Americans contending that he was more an oppressor than a saint.

A New York Times report stated that historians agree that he forced Native Americans to abandon their tribal culture and convert to Christianity.

The article also stated that he had them whipped and imprisoned and sometimes worked or tortured to death.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• New York Times
• Image: CNM news