: re: To Some in California, Founder of Church Missions Is Far From Saint

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 8:52 AM
Subject: re: To Some in California, Founder of Church Missions Is Far From Saint
To: "letters@nytimes.com"

To the Editor:

    1.2 billion Christians have as many personal relationships with Jesus. But the relationship of Rome to Jesus was clear; it tried him, scourged him and executed him as an enemy of the imperial State. That animosity was fuzzed over when Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire. But it is still puzzling (to put it mildly!) to see the Church elevating Junipero Serra who brought empire, slavery and scourgings to California towards sainthood.

Barry Haskell Levine

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/22/us/to-some-indians-in-california-father-serra-is-far-from-a-saint.html?_r=0