Love not rage

Richard A. Sokerka

All the faithful in the Diocese of Paterson are looking forward to joyfully celebrating the ordination/installation of Bishop-elect Kevin Sweeney as the eighth bishop of the Diocese on Wednesday, July 1, the feast day of St. Junipero Serra.

Often called the “Apostle of California,” this Franciscan priest not only helped to convert thousands of Native Americans to Christianity and taught them new agricultural technologies but also was a staunch advocate for them and a champion of human rights.

Sadly, his cherished legacy was trampled upon June 19 (“Juneteenth”) when an unruly mob tore down the statue of St. Junipero Serra in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Reaction was swift from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who said in a statement June 20 that important protests over racial injustice have been “hijacked” by a mob bent on violence.

“What is happening to our society? A renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism,” he said.

According to the archbishop, “The memorialization of historic figures merits an honest and fair discussion as to how and to whom such honor should be given. But here, there was no such rational discussion; it was mob rule, a troubling phenomenon that seems to be repeating itself throughout the country.”

Msgr. Francis Weber, archivist emeritus of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and author of “Blessed Fray Junipero Serra: An Outstanding California Hero,” wrote about the saint’s treatment of Native Americans in a 2015 article on the website of Knights of Columbus. “Serra showed himself to be a defender of the Indians’ human rights in 1773, when he journeyed from California to Mexico City to personally present to the viceroy a Representación. This document, which is termed a ‘Bill of Rights’ for Indians, was accepted and implemented.”

Father Junipero Serra was the first saint to be canonized on American soil by Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to the United States. At that point in time, the new saint was apparently woke enough to have two prominent Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose home district is San Francisco, and then-Vice President Joe Biden, both of whom claim Catholic roots, to join Pope Francis in a visit to the statue of St. Junipero Serra in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Five years later, their silence and that of other elected officials on this and other acts of violence and destruction is deafening as mob rule and rogue criminals dictate the fate of statues without any consequences for their actions (although we can be certain that St. Junipero Serra would have forgiven the vandals who toppled his image).

It is incumbent for all of us to follow St. Junipero Serra’s motto: “Siempre adelante!” (“Keep moving forward!”). At this point in our nation’s history, we are fixated only on the past, not the future. Surely, as we grapple with our history, especially the sin of slavery, it does not mean it should come at the exclusion of looking forward. I am certain that all of us feel there are some real wrongs currently in America and that includes the recent violence of mob rule. Our focus should be on righting any wrong we can in our nation at present.

As Archbishop Cordileone said in his statement, “Anger against injustice can be a healthy response when it is that righteous indignation which moves a society forward. But as Christ himself teaches, love, and not rage, is the only answer.”