Doctrine of Discovery rescinded?

Editor Note: Colonization and genocide cannot be erased with a press release.

March 30, 2023 (National Native News)

The Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,”
which justified colonization and the taking of Indigenous lands.

Two Vatican departments issued a joint statement Thursday saying it’s not part of teachings of the Catholic Church.

Indigenous people have long called for the church to rescind the legal concept.

Joint Statement of the Dicasteries
for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development
on the “Doctrine of Discovery”, 30.03.2023

1. In fidelity to the mandate received
from Christ, the Catholic Church strives to promote universal
fraternity and respect for the dignity of every human being.

2. For this reason, in the course of history the Popes have condemned
acts of violence, oppression, social injustice and slavery, including
those committed against indigenous peoples. There have also been
numerous examples of bishops, priests, women and men religious and lay
faithful who gave their lives in defense of the dignity of those
peoples.

3. At the same time, respect for the facts of history demands an
acknowledgement of the human weakness and failings of Christ’s disciples
in every generation. Many Christians have committed evil acts against indigenous peoples for which recent Popes have asked forgiveness on numerous occasions.

4. In our own day, a renewed dialogue with indigenous peoples,
especially with those who profess the Catholic Faith, has helped the
Church to understand better their values and cultures. With their help,
the Church has acquired a greater awareness of their sufferings, past
and present, due to the expropriation of their lands, which they
consider a sacred gift from God and their ancestors, as well as the
policies of forced assimilation, promoted by the governmental
authorities of the time, intended to eliminate their indigenous
cultures. As Pope Francis has emphasized, their sufferings constitute a
powerful summons to abandon the colonizing mentality and to walk with
them side by side, in mutual respect and dialogue, recognizing the
rights and cultural values of all individuals and peoples. In this
regard, the Church is committed to accompany indigenous peoples and to
foster efforts aimed at promoting reconciliation and healing.

5. It is in this context of listening to indigenous peoples that the
Church has heard the importance of addressing the concept referred to as
the “doctrine of discovery.” The legal concept of “discovery” was
debated by colonial powers from the sixteenth century onward and found
particular expression in the nineteenth century jurisprudence of courts
in several countries, according to which the discovery of lands by
settlers granted an exclusive right to extinguish, either by purchase or
conquest, the title to or possession of those lands by indigenous
peoples. Certain scholars have argued that the basis of the
aforementioned “doctrine” is to be found in several papal documents,
such as the Bulls Dum Diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493).

6. The “doctrine of discovery” is not part of the teaching of the
Catholic Church. Historical research clearly demonstrates that the papal
documents in question, written in a specific historical period and
linked to political questions, have never been considered expressions of
the Catholic faith. At the same time, the Church acknowledges that
these papal bulls did not adequately reflect the equal dignity
and rights of indigenous peoples. The Church is also aware that the
contents of these documents were manipulated for political purposes by
competing colonial powers in order to justify immoral acts against
indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition
from ecclesiastical authorities. It is only just to recognize these
errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies
and the pain experienced by indigenous peoples, and ask for pardon.
Furthermore, Pope Francis has urged: “Never again can the Christian
community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is
superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing
others.”

7. In no uncertain terms, the Church’s magisterium upholds the
respect due to every human being. The Catholic Church therefore
repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human
rights of indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the
legal and political “doctrine of discovery”.

8. Numerous and repeated statements by the Church and the Popes
uphold the rights of indigenous peoples. For example, in the 1537 Bull Sublimis Deus, Pope Paul III wrote, “We
define and declare [ ... ] that [, .. ] the said Indians and all other
people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be
deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even
though they be outside the Christian faith; and that they may and
should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and possession of
their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the
contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect”.

9. More recently, the Church’s solidarity with indigenous peoples has
given rise to the Holy See’s strong support for the principles
contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. The implementation of those principles would improve the living
conditions and help protect the rights of indigenous peoples as well as
facilitate their development in a way that respects their identity,
language and culture.

: FMI :

George L. Williams (2004). Papal Genealogy: The Families And Descendants Of The Popes. McFarland. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-0-7864-2071-1. 

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ALSO READ: Tribal membership vs. sovereign citizenship

“The
‘enrollment’ process was started by the Feds so they could use ‘blood
quantum’ to finish the Genocide of Native Americans. Now we are finishing the job ourselves by continuing to use it as a ‘membership’ requirement. Membership: like the Elks Club or Lions Club or the Moose Lodge. Sad.”

—Harold
Monteau, former chair of National Indian Gaming Commission and a
citizen of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, today on social media