Alicante, Spain: In an attempt to distance itself from the historic abuse of indigenous peoples of former European colonies, the Vatican has declared that past popes were “manipulated” by European powers to justify their colonialism of the Americas.
The claim centres around three papal bulls, or official decrees, issued in the 15th century to provide a religious excuse for the seizure of non-Christian land “discovered” by Spain and Portugal in South America.
Pope Francis arrives for a pilgrimage at the Lac Saint Anne, Canada, last year.Credit:AP
The documents went on to become the basis of all European territorial claims in the Americas and the United States’ western expansion into Native American territory.
In 1823, the US Supreme Court ruled that “the principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to New World lands”, coining the legal and political Doctrine of Discovery. That concept still provides a foundation for some property laws today.
But a Vatican statement on Thursday – issued under the Church’s first Latin American pontiff – rejected the doctrine and said the papal bulls on which it was based were never part of official teachings.
People protest as Pope Francis meets young people and elders at Nakasuk Elementary School Square in Iqaluit, Canada, last year.Credit:AP
The rulings were “manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples” and “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples”. However, the Vatican stopped short of rescinding them completely or acknowledging actual culpability in abuses, as some have demanded.
The move comes one year after Pope Francis met indigenous leaders from Canada who raised the issue. Indigenous leaders in North America welcomed the statement, but noted the Vatican had not withdrawn the papal decrees and called for further action from their own governments.
The statement was a “step in the right direction”, said Michelle Schenandoah of the Oneida Nation, who was among the First Nations delegation that met with Francis in Canada.
“I think what this does is it really puts the responsibility on nation states such as the US, to look at its use of the doctrine of discovery,” she added. “This goes beyond land. It really has created generation upon generation of genocidal policies directed towards indigenous peoples.
“And I think that it’s time for these governments to take full accountability for their actions.”
Ernie Daniels, former chief of Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, told CBC Manitoba radio: “It sounds good, but there has to be a fundamental change in attitudes, behaviour, laws and policies. There’s still a mentality out there – they want to assimilate, decimate, terminate, eradicate indigenous people.”
The Telegraph, London
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