Is the Pope Trying to Redeem Colonialism?

On Wednesday, Pope Francis will canonize Father Junipero Serra in a mass in D.C. In the mid-18th century, Serra led the missionary movement in California. During this time, groups of Spanish priests worked to baptize Native Americans and bring them into the fairly regimented lifestyle of mission communities.  

â??Serra did not just bring us Christianity. He imposed it, giving us no choice in the matter. He did incalculable damage to a whole culture,â? Deborah A. Miranda, a Native American and a professor of literature at Washington and Lee University, told The New York Times earlier this year. She joins a host of others who are voicing objections to Serraâ??s canonization.