Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Responding to Indigenous demands, the Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- papal documents from the 15th century that legiti...

Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Responding to Indigenous demands, the Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- papal documents from the 15th century that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands. The repudiation will have great symbolic importance.

Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Responding to Indigenous demands, the Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- papal documents from the 15th century that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands. The repudiation will have great symbolic importance.

Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Responding to Indigenous demands, the Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- papal documents from the 15th century that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands. The repudiation will have great symbolic importance.

Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Responding to Indigenous demands, the Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- papal documents from the 15th century that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands.

Vatican disavows decrees linked to seizure of Native lands

Responding to Indigenous demands, the Vatican has formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- papal documents from the 15th century that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands.The repudiation will have great symbolic importance. Its immediate practical impact may be limited, though some some Indigenous activists hope it will heighten pressure on government authorities in Canada and the United States to reconsider property la…