Thursday, April 11, 2013





I remember a parade in Santa Cruz, California, that included an entry that depicted a Franciscan friar whipping the natives who were hauling him in a wooden cart down the street.  It was obviously a political statement designed to depict the Franciscans as exploiters and masters of the indigenous people.  My first consideration was for the children who recoiled at the display.

Here is a picture of of Father Junipero Serra's opulent "bedroom" at the mission in Carmel.