Junipero Serra, the Franciscan founder of the string of missions along the

California coast, had been beatified by Pope John Paul II, raising protests from those, like

Mr. Castillo, who believe "that the system that he established here was not of benefit to

the Indians." Today's conversation doesn't always connect, but there are interesting bits

along the way. Father Maholy: "If at any time I became convinced that Father Junipero

Serra was not a saint in his own day and in his death, I would have asked to be relieved of

the job, because there are too many valuable things to be done and important things to be

done." Mr. Buckley finds it, well, outrageous that an "Ad Hoc Serra Outrage

Committee"-- according to a newspaper headline, of "Indian and leftist and atheist

groups"--was presuming to tell the Church who was and wasn't a saint.

[Note:

This program has been digitized as part of the California Audiovisual Preservation Project: http://www.archive.org/details/csth_00002]