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March 31, 2023

Vatican Repudiates "Doctrine of Discovery" Used to Justify European Colonialism
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The Vatican has formally rejected the Catholic Church's "Doctrine of
Discovery," used to justify European colonialism in Africa and the
Americas, which dates from "papal bulls" issued in the 1450s. In a
statement issued Thursday, the Vatican said the 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." Many Indigenous leaders welcomed the church's repudiation
of the "Doctrine of Discovery," which came eight months after Pope
Francis toured Canada and apologized for the Catholic Church's role in
Canada's brutal "Indian residential school" system, where many students
died.


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