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Francisclarans |
The Order of Francis and Clare was once a missionary branch of a Christian-derived group influenced by Expiationist thought. It is now a religion in its own right. The Francisclarans are a small but active organization in the present milieu, with headquarters at Pacifica in the Utopia Sphere and branches across the entire wormhole network. The Francisclarans are advocates for the rights of all sentient, sapient, and transapient beings. Francisclarans are welcome in the polities of their home territories, but elsewhere in Terragen space they may be persecuted or ignored. Their missionaries often engage in memetic campaigns against maltreatment of sentient beings. Because they seek out and publicize abuses, the Francisclarans are informal watchdogs for the Sentient Rights Protocols. Some of their most famous saints have attempted to convert entire cultures, or to persuade trans-sapients to change their ways. Most often they bring about small changes in the memetic balance of a culture or an entity rather than wholesale conversion to Expiationist beliefs, but their influence is perceptible. The most zealous Francisclarans favour direct action, and may try to rescue individuals or whole populations if persuasion and publicity fail. A number of martyrs have been created in this way.
Related Pages:
Expiationism - philosophy that trans-sapients are to sapient beings as sapient beings are to sentient life, and that on that sapient beings owe a moral, karmic, or historical debt must be paid
