{"id":18195,"date":"2020-06-27T18:27:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T22:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=18195"},"modified":"2020-06-27T18:27:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T22:27:13","slug":"the-barbarians-have-come-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=18195","title":{"rendered":"\u2018THE BARBARIANS HAVE COME BACK\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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by Martin Barillas<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 ChurchMilitant.com<\/p>\n

MADRID, Spain (<\/span>ChurchMilitant.com<\/a>) – A Spanish prelate is warning that the vandalism of saints’ statues in the United States signifies a resurgence of barbarism.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\u00a0Bp.\u00a0<\/span>Juan Antonio\u00a0<\/span>Reig<\/span>\u00a0Pla<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spanish bishop\u00a0<\/span>Juan Antonio\u00a0<\/span>Reig<\/span>\u00a0Pla<\/span>\u00a0said\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>vandalism\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>saints’\u00a0<\/span>statues<\/span>\u00a0in the United States<\/span>, “<\/span>Dear friends, that they should remove the image of Isabel of Spain<\/span>\u00a0and tear down the statue of\u00a0Fr.\u00a0<\/span>Jun\u00edpero\u00a0Serra means that the barbarians have come back.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

“We cannot simply attribute this to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ignorance<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 it is possible that those who did these things are ignorant \u2014\u00a0but behind th<\/span>ese<\/span>\u00a0ignora<\/span>muses are real barbarians who want to finish off Christian civilization,”\u00a0said\u00a0<\/span>the bishop<\/span>\u00a0on Sunday.\u00a0<\/span>He said that it is Jesus Christ “who reveals to human beings their mystery,”<\/span>\u00a0and added that assaults on Christian history are\u00a0“the worst thing[s] that can happen to us.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bishop\u00a0Reig<\/span>\u00a0Pla<\/span>\u00a0warned<\/span>\u00a0that “we are living during a profound crisis of truth,”\u00a0which<\/span>\u00a0he<\/span>\u00a0said is a\u00a0<\/span>“crisis of an intelligence that does not seek the truth.”<\/span>\u00a0He observed that this leads to a “perversion of freedom”\u00a0<\/span>for people, who\u00a0<\/span>then do not know which path to\u00a0<\/span>follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bishop told his\u00a0<\/span>flock<\/span>\u00a0that protesters are “exalting the individual to affirm a radical autonomy to define even his body and\u00a0break with all ties granted by tradition \u2014\u00a0starting with marriage, family, Catholic Tradition\u00a0and love of the land and love of country. All of this is in profound crisis.”\u00a0He said that a “prophetic voice”\u00a0is needed to respond to the crisis of truth, warning that\u00a0“with the perversion of freedom comes something worse \u2014 the darkening of the moral conscience.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear friends, that they should remove the image of Isabel of Spain<\/span>\u00a0and tear down the statue of\u00a0Fr.\u00a0<\/span>Jun\u00edpero\u00a0Serra means that the barbarians have come back.<\/span><\/i>Tweet<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Spanish authorities are investigating the bishop for supposedly violating hate-crime laws that prohibit\u00a0conversion therapy for persons seeking to avoid same-sex attraction. Spain’s socialist government has embraced doctrines of the new Left, which include further reducing protections for unborn human life and redefining sex, marriage\u00a0and\u00a0parental authority<\/a>. Bishop\u00a0Reig<\/span>\u00a0Pla<\/span>\u00a0has been one of the sternest critics of Spanish socialists<\/span>\u00a0and has been under fire for preaching Church doctrine about marriage and sexuality<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Saint Under Siege<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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On June 19,\u00a0<\/span>a mob of black-clad vandals<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0in San Francisco\u00a0<\/span>hauled down\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0statue of St.\u00a0<\/span>Jun\u00edpero\u00a0Serra, a\u00a01700s\u00a0<\/span>Spanish\u00a0<\/span>friar<\/span>\u00a0who built mission churches<\/span>\u00a0and defended\u00a0<\/span>n<\/span>ative Californian<\/span>s from persecution and mistreatment at the hands of Spanish colonists.\u00a0<\/span>In 2015, he became the first saint canonized on American soil. During a visit to Washington D.C., Pope Francis said,\u00a0“Fr.\u00a0Serra had a motto which inspired his life and work \u2014\u00a0not just a saying \u2014\u00a0but above all a reality which shaped the way he lived: S<\/span>iempre<\/span>\u00a0adelante<\/span>!<\/span>\u00a0Keep moving forward!”\u00a0<\/span>Rather than looking to the past, the pope said,\u00a0<\/span>the saint “<\/span>kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Activists pulled down\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>30-foot statue of the saint holding a cross on high at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park<\/span>\u00a0last week<\/span>. Once it was on the ground, the vandals poured red paint<\/span>\u00a0on it\u00a0and daubed the\u00a0<\/span>phrases “stolen land,”\u00a0“decolonize,”\u00a0and “<\/span>Ohlone<\/span>\u00a0land”\u00a0on its pedestal.<\/span>\u00a0Parishioners<\/span>\u00a0of Our Lady Star of the Sea of San Francisco later\u00a0<\/span>went to the site to pray<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on their knees for reparation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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St. Jun\u00edpero Serra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the following day, a mob chanted “Take it Down!”\u00a0and “This is for our ancestors!”\u00a0<\/span>while toppling\u00a0<\/span><\/span>another\u00a0<\/span><\/span>statue of the saint in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0It was\u00a0erected in 1932 by the Knights of Columbus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Protests against\u00a0excessive use of force by police have devolved into weeks of violence, arson<\/span>\u00a0and rampages by leftists calling for the\u00a0defunding of police, elimination of the judicial system, compensation for slavery\u00a0<\/span>and the furthering of the LGBTQ agenda.<\/span>\u00a0Numerous Catholic parishes have reported\u00a0<\/span>vandalism.<\/span>\u00a0Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Flagstaff, Arizona\u00a0<\/span>reported that a crucifix\u00a0<\/span><\/span>at the church\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was vandalized<\/span><\/span><\/a>, while monuments to American Indian veterans<\/span>\u00a0were also attacked.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Democrat-dominated California legislature announced last week that a statue of Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabel of Spain will be removed from the state capitol, where it has stood for more than a century. According to a statement by California S<\/span>enate president<\/span>\u00a0Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Assembly Rules Committee Chair Ken Cooley \u2014 all Democrats \u2014 “Christopher Columbus is a deeply polarizing historical figure given the deadly impact his arrival in this hemisphere had on indigenous populations. The continued presence of this statue in California’s Capitol … is completely out of place today.”<\/span><\/p>\n

What is happening to our society?<\/span><\/i>Tweet<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Queen Isabel, who funded Columbus’\u00a0voyage,\u00a0<\/span>was dubbed “Catholic Monarch”\u00a0by Pope Alexander VI<\/span>I in\u00a0<\/span>1494 and<\/span>\u00a0was granted the title,\u00a0“Servant of God”\u00a0by the Vatican in 1974. Credited for\u00a0<\/span>unifying fractious Spain in the 1400s,\u00a0<\/span>Isabel<\/span>\u00a0has been criticized for her role in the colonization of the Americas<\/span>.\u00a0Critics of St.\u00a0<\/span>Jun\u00edpero\u00a0Serra have likewise denounced him for instances of\u00a0what they describe as “enslavement” and “cruelty.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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American Bishops React<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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In a statement,\u00a0<\/span>Abp. Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0asked, “<\/span>What is happening to our society?\u00a0A renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism<\/span>.”\u00a0Affirming that the “<\/span>memorialization of historic figures<\/span>\u00a0merits an honest and fair discussion<\/span>,”\u00a0the archbishop said that in this case,\u00a0“<\/span>It was mob rule, a troubling phenomenon that seems to be repeating itself throughout the country.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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