No saint
Editor:
The new pope so far has been better than the last couple of popes. However, some priests from California deceived him into making Father Serra a saint. He was a saint for Lucifer! Millions of Native Americans died because of him. Native American groups have been upset by this callous making this monster into a saint. Father Serra was the head of the evil Spanish Inquisition here in the West. He was known for self-inflicting beatings on himself and so thought nothing about the brutal beating of heathens. Native Americans in California were forced to give up their religions either by threat of death or by beatings. They were forced to build the missions and work in the mission fields. They were forced to wear clothes even in the terrible heat. California, Oregon and Washington had the largest populations of Native Americans in the U.S.A. Most of them either died of depression and disease or were hunted down and murdered. The treatment by the early priests here in California of Native Americans was deplorable. In the minds of the early California priests it was better a dead Injun than a heathen going to hell. Many of us are sure that Father Serra made it to hell.
Martin Sampson
Santa Monica
