Pope Francis’ apology for the Catholic Church’s role in Indigenous residential schools in Canada has raised questions about whether he would formally revoke the church’s Doctrine of Discovery. The doctrine, which dates back to the 15th century, included a series of decrees known as papal bulls, which were later used to justify the colonization of indigenous lands. However, any reluctance by the pope to repudiate it may stem from the Vatican’s view that the church has already abrogated and replaced those decrees, some observers suggest. “In a way, from the church’s point of view, it doesn’t need to be repealed because it has actually been repealed,” said Darren Dias, a professor of theology at St. Michael’s College in Toronto. “It has no place.” On May 4, 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull known as “Inter Caetera” which granted Portugal and Spain the religious support to expand their territories in Africa and the Americas for the sake of spreading Christianity. The papal bull said that land uninhabited by Christians could be claimed, while “barbarous nations would be overthrown and led to the faith itself.” WATCHES | He calls for the doctrine to be abolished:
Protesters are urging the Pope to annul the Doctrine of Discovery
Two young First Nations activists carried a powerful banner to the Pope’s service in Quebec. Their demand to repeal the Doctrine of Discovery that allowed colonization reflected a day of consternation and, for some, growing impatience for concrete action. While the doctrine justified the colonization, conversion and enslavement of indigenous peoples and the occupation of their lands, scholars say it also laid the foundation for Canada’s land claims and the Indian Act, which laid the groundwork for residential schools . Dias says that other decrees soon replaced the Doctrine of Discovery. For example, by 1537, Pope Paul III had issued his own decree opposing the enslavement of indigenous peoples. He wrote that they should “on no account be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they are outside the faith of Jesus Christ.” Despite this, the churches continued to colonize and violently evangelize, Dias said.
“Circumstances have changed”
The Vatican made the doctrine in a statement to the Ninth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in April 2010. The doctrine, the Vatican argued, had been abolished as early as 1494 and that “circumstances have changed so much that attributing any legal value to such a document seems completely inappropriate.” The Doctrine of Discovery had also been abrogated by other papal bulls, encyclicals, declarations and decrees, he said. Francis observes a silent prayer at the cemetery during his meeting with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Maskwacis, Alta., on Monday. (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters) “The Inter Caetera bull is a historical relic with no legal, moral or doctrinal value,” the statement said. “The Holy See confirms that Inter Caetera has already been abolished and considers it without any legal or doctrinal value.” However, there continue to be calls for a formal renunciation, not only from the indigenous community, but from some members of the Catholic Church. An umbrella organization of US Catholic women’s religious orders, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, formally asked Francis to do so in 2014, saying he must renounce “the period of Christian history that used religion to justify politics and personal violence against indigenous nations and peoples.” But Massimo Fagioli, a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, told Reuters that while the pope was unlikely to formally rescind the doctrine, he would have to face it. “The church doesn’t work like that — it doesn’t issue a document that says, ‘We’ve now decided that this old doctrine is no longer true,’” he said. “How the church does this is to produce new documents with new doctrines that replace the old doctrines. … I believe [the Pope] he will have to address this issue, and I think he will. But not with an official document.” Dias agrees that, traditionally, popes do not retract. Instead, “a [new] the teaching replaces the old teaching. That is certainly what happened with the Doctrine of Discovery,” he said. In an email to CBC News, Jonathan Lesarge, a spokesman for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, reiterated that the Vatican has previously clarified that papal bulls linked to the Doctrine of Discovery have no legal or moral authority in the Church. “However, we understand the desire to name these texts, acknowledge their impact and discard the meanings attached to them,” he said. “The Bishops of Canada are working with the Vatican and those who have studied this matter, with the goal of issuing a new statement from the Church.” WATCHES | Francis apologizes to survivors:
The Pope is “deeply sorry” for the “colonial mentality” of many Christians
During his visit to Maskwacis, Alta., Pope Francis apologized to school survivors for the ways in which members of the Catholic Church collaborated in the cultural destruction of indigenous life. Meanwhile, Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican’s press office, in a briefing days before the visit to Canada, acknowledged that “a reflection is underway at the Holy See on the doctrine of discovery,” according to America magazine. But Steve Newcomb, an Indigenous scholar who has spent much of his career studying the Doctrine of Discovery, says he believes the pope’s possible reluctance to rescind the doctrine stems from his reluctance to remind the world of the type of language they used. his predecessors. “[They] issued language of this kind that has had a devastating, devastating impact for centuries on all of our First Nations and peoples,” Newcomb said. “Because what it does is it peels away the veneer from the Vatican to reveal the true nature of the institution,” he said. Newcomb also suggested that subsequent edicts issued by the church after the papal bulls of 1493 had little impact, and that the original doctrine of discovery served for decades as the basis of “the most atrocious genocidal acts against the original nation”. He said despite its statement to the UN in 2010, the Vatican continues to try to avoid responsibility for the doctrine. “They have never publicly acknowledged what is in these documents. They just want to refer to the titles of the documents, but not the substance.” Support is available for anyone affected by their residential school experience or recent reports. A national Indian residential school crisis line has been set up to provide support to former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419. Mental health counseling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
