塞拉神父是圣徒还是罪人

AS IT IS 2015-09-13 Father Serra: Saint to Some, Unworthy to Others 塞拉神父是圣徒还是罪人

Pope Francis is making final preparations for his visit to the United States. During the trip, the Pope will officially recognize an 18th century religious worker as a saint.

Junipero Serra served as a Catholic missionary¹ priest more than 200 years ago in what was then called Spanish California. Not everyone agrees that Father Serra should be recognized for his work. Among his biggest critics are Native Americans.

On September 23rd in Washington DC., Pope Francis will complete a years-long process and recognize Junipero Serra as a saint.  Father Serra helped create the Spanish colonial system of California missions.

Spain had claimed most of California in the 16th century. But there were no Spanish settlements in the territory for nearly 200 years. In 1768, Spain’s King, Charles the Third, decided² the best way to keep the Spanish claim to California was to build settlements there. He ordered the creation of a series of small farming communities along the Pacific Ocean coast. But there was no one on the coast to begin the work.

King Charles and his advisors³ decided that the farming settlements would begin with Roman Catholic churches called missions. The missions were places where Catholic clergymen taught the Christian⁴ religion to people who wanted to join the church.

The king decided Catholic priests would build the missions and settlements with the help of Native Americans. The clergymen would teach the native people Christianity, the Spanish language and how to farm.

A religious group within the Catholic Church called the Franciscans would build the settlements. The Franciscans chose a young priest named Junipero Serra to begin the work. Many historians say the Spanish government and the Catholic Church could not have chosen a better person than Father Serra. He had always wanted to tell others about Christianity.

In 1749, he sailed to Mexico to begin his life as a missionary. He spent several years studying the languages and customs of Mexico’s native people.

In 1768, Father Serra was given the job of building the first of the California missions near the present day city of San Diego. But before the settlement was completed, Father Serra decided to move it. He did not like the way Spanish soldiers mistreated the Native Americans. He wanted to keep them separate. So he moved the mission to an area that is still called Mission Valley.

Many people have criticized the mission system of settlements because it changed the way of life for the Native Americans in California. Critics say many Native Americans were forced to work at the missions. They say many were forced to become Christians⁵. And many were badly treated by Spanish soldiers and died because of mistreatment or disease.

Andrew Galvan is an American Indian and the head of the Mission Dolores museum in San Francisco. Mr. Galvan admits that the mission system was not perfect. But he says he has respected the work of Father Serra since the 1970s.

“I have worked along with the friars (priests) since that time promoting Father Serra’s cause.”

Vincent Medina also works at Mission Dolores museum. But he says Father Serra should not be recognized as a holy man.

“It’s documented that he wanted the Indian languages suppressed. It’s documented that he sent for whips for Indian people to be whipped.”

Mr. Medina says the Spanish brought disease to the native peoples and destroyed their culture.

Father Serra worked at the Carmel Mission on the California coast, among other places. He is buried there. He is remembered there as a strong defender⁶ of the native Californians against the Spanish forces.

Ruben Mendoza is an archeologist at California State University, Monterey Bay. He has been studying Father Serra’s life for 20 years. He was once a critic of the clergyman, but he has come to respect him.

“And being of, of, of Native American ancestry⁷ myself -- Yaqui Indian -- I don’t give a pass to colonialism. On the other hand, when you look at the life of Serra very specifically, you will see that he was not only a man of his time, but he was a man well ahead of his time in that he was an advocate for native peoples.”

The Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is made up of tribes that lived near the California coast. Like many other Native Americans, they say Father Serra harmed native peoples. But some of the tribe’s Catholic members have defended him. Rudy Ortega, Jr. is the chairman of the tribe. He says he believes the decision to make Father Serra a saint will hurt the Roman Catholic Church.

“More people are gonna understand what Father Serra did. I think more evidence is gonna come through. The indigenous⁸ people of California, all the Mission Indians of California, are gonna read more about it, they’re gonna study harder, they’re gonna find more research and they’re gonna learn and they’re gonna expose more of the truth.”

Pope Francis has apologized for the way members of the church treated Native Americans. But he says some in the church worked to help them.

Words in This Story

missionary priest – n. a Catholic clergyman whose job is persuade others to accept Christianity

promote – v. to make people aware of something;  to make (something) more popular or  well-known

whip – n. a long, thin piece of leather or similar material that is attached to a handle and that is used for hitting a person as punishment

give a pass to – expression to stop oneself from doing something

specifically – adj. to be exact or clear

a man of his time – expression to be a product of one’s environment

well ahead of his time – expression having futuristic ideas

advocate – n. a person who works for a cause or group

indigenous – adj. native; produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

expose – v. to make public; to reveal the crimes or mistakes of (someone)

1 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

7 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。