ROME
FirstPost
ROME (Reuters) – Pope Francis defended an 18th-century Spanish priest on Saturday from accusations he brutalised Native Americans in missionary work that helped lay the foundations for the Catholic Church in the United States.
The pope intends to declare Father Junipero Serra a saint at a Mass celebrated at the National Shrine in Washington on Sept 23 during his U.S. visit.
The Franciscan missionary built a series of missions along the Pacific coast in the latter 18th century, in what is now California, to spread the faith among Native Americans there.
Tribal leaders in California say Serra beat and imprisoned local peoples, suppressed their cultures and facilitated the spread of diseases that decimated the population.
Without addressing specific accusations, Francis praised Serra’s missionary zeal and said the priest “defended the indigenous peoples against abuses by the colonisers”.
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