Pauls' Revere
Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2007
- Messages
- 11,347
I'm betting it was arson.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ro...-after-fire-broke-out-at-249-year-old-church/
A fire broke out at the San Gabriel Mission early Saturday and burned the roof and much of the church’s interior, officials said.
Authorities have not determined what caused the blaze at the 249-year-old church on 428 S. Mission Drive.
In previous weeks, statues of the priest who worked to convert Native Americans to Catholicism in the 18th century and forced them to say in missions have been removed across Southern California, including at the San Gabriel church.
The statue had stood outside the San Gabriel Mission since the 1980s but the church relocated it out of the public’s view, citing activists’ toppling of Serra’s statues across California, a statement from Father John Molyneux said.
“Whereas the California Catholic Conference of Bishops reminds us that the historical truth is that St. Serra repeatedly pressed the Spanish authorities for better treatment of the Native American community, we recognize and understand that for some he has become a symbol of the dehumanization of the Native American community,” Molyneux said. “We at Mission San Gabriel are committed to continuing dialogue with our Native American representatives in order to achieve a peaceful and just partnership.”
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/ro...-after-fire-broke-out-at-249-year-old-church/
A fire broke out at the San Gabriel Mission early Saturday and burned the roof and much of the church’s interior, officials said.
Authorities have not determined what caused the blaze at the 249-year-old church on 428 S. Mission Drive.
In previous weeks, statues of the priest who worked to convert Native Americans to Catholicism in the 18th century and forced them to say in missions have been removed across Southern California, including at the San Gabriel church.
The statue had stood outside the San Gabriel Mission since the 1980s but the church relocated it out of the public’s view, citing activists’ toppling of Serra’s statues across California, a statement from Father John Molyneux said.
“Whereas the California Catholic Conference of Bishops reminds us that the historical truth is that St. Serra repeatedly pressed the Spanish authorities for better treatment of the Native American community, we recognize and understand that for some he has become a symbol of the dehumanization of the Native American community,” Molyneux said. “We at Mission San Gabriel are committed to continuing dialogue with our Native American representatives in order to achieve a peaceful and just partnership.”
