1. Junipero Serra: Saint or Sinner?

• The title raises the question: Should Junipero Serra be a Saint? The controversy is over why some people feel St. Junipero should not be a Saint because of how he treated the indigenous population. Others feel he deserves it because of the many missions he founded and how he helped the indigenous population.

2. Vocabulary in article

• Controversy is a disagreement over various issues and various opinions that agree and disagree over something.

• Canonization is the formal process of someone becoming a Saint in the Catholic Church.

• “Cushy” position; indigenous population; lupus; flogging; rescinded; self-sacrificing

3. Examples of Controversy

• The two words are “Saint” and “Sinner.” Because they are opposites, when people call St. Junipero both it becomes controversial. Pope Francis canonizing St. Junipero and making him a Saint adds to the controversy.

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4. What makes Serra worthy of Sainthood?

• One, he brought Christianity to California 300 years ago.

• Two, he was a self-sacrificing evangelist who chose to spread the gospel among the indigenous population in California instead of staying in Spain with a cushy job.

5. What was not Saintly?

• On the other hand, Native Americans consider St. Junipero running a military-backed mission system that was brutal and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.

• He was known to have enslaved, whipped, tortured and separated families and destroyed their cultural and spiritual beliefs.

6. What led to canonization?

• The canonization process started in the 1930’s and he was beatified in 1988. Pope Francis needed only one miracle to move forward with the canonization instead of the usual two. Because Pope Francis is Latin American he had a positive of missionaries as protectors of the indigenous population, which supported Serra.

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7. What was the debate about?

• The debate is that he treated the Indians cruelly by supporting flogging as punishment; he locked up women and girls to protect them from being raped; and, diseases spread in the crowded missions killing many people. On the other hand, Serra was said to have loved the Indians and thought of them as his children. He also thought the Europeans were superior to the native people.

8. What is the “Quixotic effort”

• A “quixotic effort” is an impossible effort that seems futile to even attempt. In other words, the controversy will not get Pope Francis to cancel the canonization. But Lopez attempted to get it cancelled by writing several letters to the Vatican, and organized a protest trip to the East Coast. Definition: Idealistic but impractical.

• Based on a book by Miguel de Cervantes and his book Don Quixote, which became a Broadway Musical “Man of La Mancha”

9. Final Opinion of Lopez and Commitment

• The final opinion of Lopez is that he will not stop.

• The battle is not over. “We will never accept Junipero Serra’s canonization.”

• “We will continue the fight to have the canonization rescinded. One day, the Catholic Church will realize it made a mistake.”

Appendix: Lyrics of “Impossible Dream”

• To dream ... the impossible dream ...To fight ... the unbeatable foe ...To bear ... with unbearable sorrow ...To run ... where the brave dare not go ...To right ... the unrightable wrong ...To love ... pure and chaste from afar ...To try ... when your arms are too weary ...To reach ... the unreachable star ...

Impossible Dream Lyrics• This is my quest, to follow that star ...

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far ... To fight for the right, without question or pause ... To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause ... And I know if I'll only be true, to this glorious quest, That my heart will lie peaceful and calm, when I'm laid to my rest ... And the world will be better for this: That one man, scorned and covered with scars, Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, To reach ... the unreachable star ...

Summary of Play

• In the volatile days of the Spanish Inquisition, the writer Miguel de Cervantes (Peter O'Toole) and his manservant (James Coco) make livings as tax collectors but soon find themselves imprisoned after being accused of crimes against the church. Now facing the wrath of their fellow inmates, Cervantes must persuade the unruly bunch not to burn his prized manuscript -- by performing it for them. With the help of a prostitute (Sophia Loren), they begin the tale of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

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