CALIFORNIA legislators have proposed that a statue of Father Junipero Serra, the great 18th-century Franciscan missionary, in the National Hall of Statuary in the U.S. Capitol building be removed and replaced with one of the lesbian astronaut Sally Ride.

Father Serra, who established eight missions along the California coast that succeeded in converting thousands of Indians, was famous for his devotion to the Indians, his efforts to educate them in agricultural techniques and his objections to harsh treatment of the natives by the Spanish colonizers. He has, however, come under harsh criticism, accused of being an accomplice to colonial brutality. Father Serra is under attack from the world and, as Thomas Droleskey writes, has been misrepresented by “Pope” Francis, who plans to canonize the saint in the fall.

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