The following comes from an October 21 Orange County Register article by Erin Donnelly:
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – San Juan Capistrano’s City Council voted Tuesday not to install St. Junipero Serra’s motto onto the council chamber walls. The vote was 3-2 against, with Council members Kerry Ferguson and John Perry in support.
Serra’s motto is “Siempre Adelante, Nunca Atras,” a Spanish phrase that translates to “Always forward, never back.” The Franciscan friar founded several California missions, including the San Juan Capistrano mission, and was canonized by Pope Francis during his visit to the United States last month.
A handful of residents expressed concern about the motto, emphasizing separation of church and state and Serra’s controversial relationship with Native Americans.
“Saint Serra is a product of the Catholic church,” Jan Siegel said. “I support the canonization of Serra and felt it was long overdue. However, that elevation is for the church and not the city of San Juan Capistrano.”
“The motto is a reminder of what my ancestors endured,” said Rick Mendez, a descendent of the Acjachemen tribe of Native Americans.
Ferguson and Perry said during the meeting that the phrase doesn’t have religious connotations and is more of an uplifting motto connected to the city’s history.
OK so not a big deal. Plenty of pithy phrases out there. No harm, no foul.
Funny! I guess they are not so “progressive” after all.
The sad thing is how those that hate the Roman Catholic Church tell lies about the saints, trying to make them look evil when they were not. There is no evidence to their lies, just hearsay spread by word of mouth from one deceiver to another or gullible persons who never bother to research and check out the truth. The other sad thing is, we don’t hear the V2 Church countering the deceivers and exposing the truth to prove that the haters words are nothing but lies.
This is harmful. IF it were a motto constructed by a gay person and rejected, then the LGBT community would be screaming and filing a lawsuit. I think people live in fear of what secular society thinks, rather than promote a simple idea from a humble man who desired to serve God.
As for me St. Serra’s motto has been the story of my life since I once heard a preacher give a sermon about the times in our lives when we should move on and not look back less we, like Lot’s wife, turn to stone. The Lord Jesus Christ put it another way, brush the dust from our feet from that city and move on.