A protester holds a sign demanding Pope Francis rescind the Doctrine of Discovery during the papal visit to Iqaluit in July 2022. On Thursday, the Vatican formally repudiated the doctrine, a set of religious and political theories that European rulers used to justify colonizing Indigenous lands. (File photo by Corey Larocque)
End of Doctrine of Discovery a step toward reconciliation: ITK
Inuit organization applauds Catholic Church’s rejection of controversial doctrine
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is calling the Vatican’s decision to rescind the centuries-old Doctrine of Discovery an “important step” on the road to reconciliation.
On Thursday, the Vatican formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, the religious and political theories supported by 15th century papal bulls that granted legitimacy to European colonization of Indigenous lands.
In rescinding the doctrine, the Vatican said it “repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples.”
In a statement posted on its website Friday, ITK, the national organization representing Inuit, said: “For centuries, the Catholic Church’s leadership and decision-making has caused irreversible damage to Inuit and Indigenous communities in Canada.
“Doctrine then and now has been manipulated to the detriment of peoples, including the dispossession of our lands. The Vatican’s efforts to recognize the role of its Doctrine in perpetuating these harms mark an important step in its attempts towards reconciliation,” read the message.
Indigenous groups have long called for Pope Francis to rescind the doctrine. It is one of the 94 calls to action the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued in 2015.
When the pontiff visited Canada in July 2022 to apologize to Indigenous groups for the abuses inflicted by member of the Roman Catholic Church in the residential school system, some protesters held signs demanding he formally reject the Doctrine of Discovery.
On Thursday, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation released a statement saying it is “encouraged” by the Vatican’s formal repudiation of the doctrine and its support for the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“The repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery is one step among many that should be taken by the Catholic Church towards taking responsibility for its actions,” the statement read.
“Residential school survivors and their families continue to expect sincere, significant, and immediate action that addresses the ongoing harm caused by the Church.”
Both organizations’ statements underlined what they said is the need to continue working with the Catholic Church and Government of Canada to seek justice for abuses committed against Indigenous Peoples.
ITK stated it will “continue to look to the church to hold to account Johannes Rivoire,” a Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse against children during his time in Nunavut from the 1960s until 1993.
RCMP charged Rivoire in February 2022 over an allegation of sexual abuse during the 1970s. However, Rivoire lives in France and has not agreed to return to Canada to face justice.
A little too late , damage is done. Good public relations move on behalf of the church.
There have been many practices over the centuries that have evolved within culture and civilization. Some practices such as slavery, torture and tribalism are no longer practiced in some cultures; in others, they still abound.
There are many equivalents globally, in Canada, and in Nunavut including generations of entrenched nepotism and classism, to name a couple.
These contribute in large messure to the hopelessness that inspires oppression, violence and suicide in our communities. Even organizations such as ITK are not innocent at all
Sartre once said existence precedes essence. Here I would say action precedes idea.
The capture, appropriation and ownership claims Europeans made to the new lands they began to discover in the late 14th and early 15th centuries was the causal fact that explains the Doctrine of Discovery, not the other way around.
That might sound strange, or meaningless, but scratch below the surface and notice the implications toward our understanding of ourselves as a conscious species.
Notice the words they chose to use
repudiation is to step away and not take responsibility. No condemnation or accepting of responsibility of the church. They managed to find a way to do the smallest amount of action while doing almost nothing to begin
What does the Church taking responsibility for the words uttered by its popes centuries ago look like?
Maybe, just maybe, releasing the documents they’ve been hiding from the investigation of the abuse the church did to indigenous people and the unmarked graves that they continue to spit on?
Just a thought.
They owe us a lot of information and yet the govt is spending millions in search of unmarked graves. You should have thought about it before asking that rude question.
My flawed assumption was that whatever action you expected the Church to take be directly tied to the consequences of the Doctrine of Discovery. But here you want a carte blanche. Sure, they should obviously be forthcoming with any information they might have.
I’m not here to fish for likes when I state that your comment wasn’t thought out. A simple answer like that is already out in the open. Got millions to spend when there is direct information from the Vatican? Cmon now.