Amah Mutsun's Response to Catholic Church's Encyclical on the Environment

On July 1, Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, sent a letter to Pope Francis in response to the Catholic Church's Encyclical on the environment. While the Amah Mutsun are supportive of the Catholic Church's stance on the environment, the tribe continues to request that the Pope reverse his decision to canonize Junipero Serra in September. "Serra's mission system forever changed California ecosystems, replacing bear, deer, elk and native plants with mega herds of grass devouring sheep, cattle, pigs, horses and European plants and invasive weeds that were raised by the missions for profit using involuntary, unpaid and underfed Indian labor," the letter states.