Vatican Officially Approves Controversial Serra's Sainthood

The Vatican's saint-making office has officially given its thumbs up for the Reverand Junipero Serra to be declared a saint – four months after Pope Francis announced he would canonize the controversial 18th-century missionary during his upcoming visit to the United States. Serra is hailed by the Catholic Church as a great evangelizer who established 21 missions across California. Many Native Americans, though, accuse him of forced conversions, enslaving converts and helping wipe out...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - mercredi 6 mai 2015