Today is Columbus Day in the USA. The day is set aside to remember Christopher Columbus, the navigator accredited with the discovery of America. However, scholars have revealed that Columbus was not all that heroic and, much the opposite, was a slaver and a exploiter of indigenous peoples. This particular darkside of Columbus has, predictably, taken on with modern academics around the country. A student influenced by a history professor at Ole Miss told me hed never go to a St. Johns Knights of Columbus Fish Fry since it has Columbus name on it! Despite the vitriol, there is a case for the holiday. The immigrant experience of Americans has never been an easy one. Italian immigrants to the USA in the 19th and early 20th century were greeted with revulsion and bitterness. Being Catholic, they took solace in the fact that the country they were coming to was discovered by AN ITALIAN. From American: american/archive/2014/october/the-origins-and-traditions-of-columbus-day During the mid-19th century, in the face of ardent anti-immigration and anti-Catholic activism, many who found themselves targets of this animus invoked Columbus as a symbol that legitimized their right to citizenship. During this time, organizations like the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic American fraternal organization, adopted his name and rose to prominence as they fought discrimination against struggling immigrants. As historian Thomas J. Schlereth writes, Columbus was a world hero against American nativism. . . . As Catholic descendants of Columbus, member knights [of Columbus] were entitled to all the rights and privileges due such a discovery by one of our faith. On the cusp of the 400th anniversary of Columbuss landfall, the Knights of Columbus and various other Italian-American organizations began to lobby Congress for federal recognition of Columbus Day. While Italians and Catholics rallied around Columbus in the name of civil rights and equality, his other admirers invoked him as a symbol of patriotism, progress, and westward expansion. In 1892, at the direction of Congress, President Benjamin Harrison delivered a proclamation that made October 12, the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, [ . . . ] a general holiday for the people of the United States. On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer. As Catholics we have to admit our Faith has come to us through saints and sinners. While we praise the example of men and women like St. Francis, St. Bernadette and St. Ignatius, we also realize the influence of Constantine (not a saint in the Roman tradition), Charlemagne and Torquemada. The article cited above states it well: Perhaps somewhere between the false dichotomies of Columbus as either hero or villain, the real Christopher Columbus — human, adventurous, imperfect — can be found. As the historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto notes, the answer to whether Columbus was saint or criminal is that he was neither but has become both. The real Columbus was a mixture of virtues and vices like the rest of us, not conspicuously good or just, but generally well-intentioned, who grappled creditably with intractable problems. Pray for the repose and pardon of Christopher Columbus soul today. Pray for the immigrants who are still persecuted in this country. And pray for the good that our Knights do that honor the name of Columbus, perhaps giving him honor to make up for his flaws and sins. And the catfish dinners from the St. Johns Knights do not support in any way slavery, child abuse or spreading of disease. It goes to helping the poor, supporting the mentally challenged and supporting the work of the parish. So no torture. However, I hear the seating in the Knights room can be a bit uncomfortable.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:51:02 +0000
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