Podcast with Greg Orfalea: Author of "Journey to the Sun: Junipero Serra's Dream and the Founding of California"
Author Mr. Gregory Orfalea sat down
with Secular Franciscan Gregg Garrison, Minister of the St. Louis the King
Fraternity at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara recently to record this podcast.
They discuss, with the St. Louis the
King Seculars and two Franciscan Friars, the St. Serra biography written by Mr.
Orfalea, “Journey to the Sun”, published by Scribner in 2014 — just a year
before Pope Francis’ canonization of St. Serra in 2015.
The author and the fraternity have a
lively conversation on the Mission system, the Franciscan Friars, Spaniards and
indigenous Indians of the Americas in the 16th to the 19th
centuries.
One recurring theme in their
conversation is how the West Coast missionary system historically occurred at
the same time as the East Coast colonial system — and how different the two
systems were in how the two cultures developed on opposite coasts. The key
difference between the Dutch and English colonization of the East Coast and the
Spanish missionary system on the West Coast in the 18th century, is how different the Spanish versus
the Dutch and English perceived and treated the two Indian groups on the East
and West Coasts.
Mr. Orfalea gives insight into
Serra's relationship with the Indians that is both complimentary and critical.
For example, about the corporal punishment that was given to Spaniards as well
as Indians, he makes no mistake, “It was cruel, a violation of the Fifth
Commandment. Serra's and Lasuen's arguments for flogging ultimately ring
hollow. They should have had the wisdom and foresight to stop it.”
At the same time, Gregory
Orfalea finds extraordinary respect and love, for example, in the insistence
that Indian rebels who murdered three Spaniards, including one priest at San
Diego, be freed from jail, an exceptional thing he calls 'radical mercy' in the
spirit of' 'the Gospel of Love.'
Mr. Orfalea also points out
that Serra was so solicitous of the Indians that on coming upon 'good, sweet
water' near San Diego he insisted that the thirsty Spaniards and the animals
not drink it! Why? Because 'we do not want to spoil the watering
place for the poor gentiles.' In other words, hands off the Indians'
water! Serra felt the same way about the Indians' land, too.
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