Pope’s apology doesn’t change opinions on Serra canonization A woman passed a statue of Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra at the Mission San Diego de Acala in San Diego earlier this year. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

By Sudhin Thanawala Associated Press September 7, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO — Pope Francis’ apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s crimes against indigenous peoples has not softened opposition among some California Native Americans to his decision to canonize 18th-century Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra.  Serra is extolled by the Vatican as a great evangelizer, but denounced by some tribal officials as a destroyer of Native culture. Continue reading Pope’s apology doesn’t change opinions on Serra canonization →