1 of 3 Pope Francis during the weekly general audience on March 29, 2023 — Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP Pope Francis during the weekly general audience on March 29, 2023 — Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
The Vatican on Thursday officially rejected the “doctrine of discovery” used in colonial times to justify European conquests in Africa and America, saying it was “not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church”.
The Vatican, in a statement from its Departments of Culture and Human Development, acknowledged that 15thcentury papal documents were used by colonial powers to legitimize their actions. this included slavery.
2 of 3 In 2016, Rome hosted an unprecedented exhibition of papal bulls from the Vatican archives — Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP In 2016, Rome hosted an unprecedented exhibition of papal bulls from the Vatican archives — Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP
The departments specifically mentioned papal bulls Dum Diverse (Until differently) from 1452, Romanus Pontifex (The Roman Pope) from 1455 and Inter Caetera (Among others) from 1493.
“Historical research clearly shows that the papal documents in question, written in a specific historical period and related to political issues, were never considered an expression of the Catholic faith,” the statement said.
The document says that “were manipulated for political ends by competing colonial powers to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples sometimes carried out without opposition from the ecclesiastical authorities”.
3 of 3 faithful protect themselves with umbrellas as Pope Francis speaks from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican in 2020 — Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP Faithful protect themselves with umbrellas as Pope Francis speaks from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican in 2020 — Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP
Vatican departments admitted that the cops, who provided political cover for Spanish and Portuguese conquests in Africa and America, “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples”.
“It is only right to acknowledge these mistakes, to acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain of the indigenous peoples, and to ask for forgiveness,” they said.
Argentinaborn Pope Francis, America’s first pope, made several gestures to raise awareness of indigenous peoples. Last year he traveled to the Arctic region of Canada to apologize for the oppression of the Inuit.