SAN FRANCISCO—On Saturday, June 20, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone voiced his opposition to the toppling of the Junípero Serra statue in Golden Gate Park, which occurred the Friday evening before.
Serra was a priest from Spain who lived during the 18th century. He created nine religious missions in what we now know as California. Serra’s legacy has been entangled with some controversy due to his purported involvement in the violent colonization of Native Americans while he was establishing his missions. However, Serra was honored in 2015 by Pope Francis, who officially bestowed saintly status on Serra.
Serra’s statue at Golden Gate Park stands about 30 feet tall and depicts him standing next to a religious cross that is taller than him. On Friday evening, June 19, crowds roped the cross and tugged the whole statue to the ground.
Cordileone’s statement, titled “On the Destruction of St. Junipero Serra Statue,” condemned the vandalism and statue-hijacking, calling it “mob rule.”
The Archbishop acknowledged that a dialogue should be started concerning how certain historical figures are memorialized but that “here, there was no such rational discussion.”
Cordileone’s statement describes Serra as a hero for his religious accomplishments and his “sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California from their Spanish conquerors, especially the soldiers.”
The Archbishop acknowledged that “historical wrongs” may be embedded within the legacies of certain historical figures, “even by people of good will.” But he notes, “just as historical wrongs cannot be righted by keeping them hidden, neither can they be righted by re-writing the history.”
According to a spokesperson from San Francisco’s Archdiocese, the California Catholic Conference (CCC), based in Sacramento, is currently working to make Serra’s legacy better understood.
The CCC describes itself as the official voice of public policy for the Catholic Church in California. The organization drafted a statement on Monday, June 22, in response to the removal of the Serra statue.
The CCC criticized the removal of statues and held, in particular, that Serra advocated for better treatment of Native Americans.
The organization writes, “If that is not enough to legitimate a public statue in the state that he did so much to create, then virtually every historical figure from our nation’s past will have to be removed for their failings measured in the light of today’s standards.”
