The Doctrine is a collection of papal teachings beginning in the 14th century.

The teachings (called papal bulls) blessed explorers' efforts to colonise and claim the lands of any people who were not Christian.

The explorers would then place both the land and the people under the sovereignty of European Christian rulers.

Among those wanting it gone are Indigenous Canadians, Canada's bishops and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Indigenous people in Canada have for years been calling for the Doctrine of Discovery to be rescinded.

One Indigenous group staged a protest about the Doctrine just before Pope Francis celebrated Mass last Thursday at Canada's national shrine.

Rescind the papal decrees underpinning the Doctrine! Repudiate the theories that legitimised the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today, they demanded.

Then two Indigenous women unfurled a banner at the altar. It read: "Rescind the Doctrine" in bright red and black letters. They took it down before Mass started.

Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has also been looking for action on the Doctrine. In 2015, the Commission listed its repudiation as one of 94 calls to action. It's still waiting.

Canada's bishops are clear about their views.

"Galvanised by the calls of our indigenous partners and by the Holy Father's remarks, we are working with the Vatican and those who have studied this issue, with the goal of issuing a new statement from the Church," they said.

"Canada's Bishops continue to reject and resist the ideas associated with the Doctrine of Discovery in the strongest possible way."

Professor of theology and religious studies, Massimo Faggioli, thinks Francis is unlikely to formally rescind the doctrine, though he should address it.

Francis himself is aware of the Doctrine's impact on indigenous Canadians.

He spent last week in Canada seeking to atone for the legacy and on Thursday added in another request for forgiveness from victims for the "evil" of clergy sexual abuse.

The doctrine led to the planned destruction of the families, languages, cultures and traditions of the Indigenous communities of Canada through the residential school system.

This was "genocide," Francis said during his return journey to Rome. It always has been a temptation for colonisers to think they were superior to the people whose land they were colonising.

There was even "a theologian, who was a bit crazy," who questioned whether the indigenous people of the Americas had souls," he added.

"This is the problem of every colonialism, even today."

He then pointed to modern forms of "ideological colonialism," which use requests for foreign assistance to force poorer countries to adopt policies that go against the values their people hold dear.

"This doctrine of colonialism truly is evil, it's unjust," Francis said.

Source

• Khaleej Times
• AP News
• Calgary Sun
• Catholic News Service

Francis hopes to reconcile with Canada's indigenous people for the abuse indigenous children suffered at mostly church-run residential schools.

Hundreds of possible grave sites have been found at the schools.

Catholic missionaries are among those responsible for these abuses.

Compensation is sought. So is the return of indigenous artefacts. Many want school records released and are asking for support to extradite accused abusers.

A 15th-century papal edict justifying their dispossession by colonialists must also be rescinded, indigenous people say.

Francis told reporters accompanying him on the plane that his six-day visit must be handled with care.

His trip follows his April 1 apology from the Vatican for the trauma Canada's indigenous peoples have suffered. He admitted these traumas occurred as a result of a church-enforced policy to eliminate their culture and assimilate them into a Canadian, Christian society.

While his April 1 apology was acknowledged, many called for him to apologise on Canadian soil.

Between 1881 and 1996 more than 150,000 indigenous children were separated from their families and brought to residential schools.

Many were starved, beaten and sexually abused in a system Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission called "cultural genocide".

A top papal adviser says early in his papacy Francis had said no single culture can claim a hold on Christianity.

The Church cannot demand people on other continents to imitate the European way of expressing the faith, he stressed at the time.

Although it's not yet known if Francis intends to apologise on this trip, Chief Vernon Saddleback of Samson Cree Nation says it would be well received.

"For him to come out here to do it in person — I can't say enough how important that is because that's where healing begins, when you start to own up to actions.

"When you own up to actions you can start the process of walking towards forgiveness."

The penitential trip won't be easy for the 85-year-old Francis or for residential school survivors and their families.

"It is an understatement to say there are mixed emotions," said Chief Desmond Bull of the Louis Bull Tribe.

Non-indigenous Canadians are also approving of Francis's visit.

"It's really important that he's coming over here for healing and reconciliation and hope," says one.

Another, who is not a Catholic, says the Pope's trip is an important one.

"I think that it's needed.

"I think coming from a top level like that means a lot to the indigenous people, really."

Source

• The Province
• AP News
• Reuters

The apology must be given to all survivors, and some would not feel comfortable attending a traditional Catholic event, the angry survivors say.

The comments from the current indigenous leaders represent a new generation that wants redress rather than reconciliation, says Fr Raymond de Souza in the National Post.

While former national chiefs Phil Fontaine and Willie Littlechild worked hard in the 1990s and 2000s to heal the relationship and establish new partnerships, the current national chief, RoseAnne Archibald, is twenty years younger and is less inclined, he says.

Archibald refused to join the delegation to meet Francis.

While the new leadership disagrees on some aspects surrounding a possible apology, they agree on four points.

• Any further apology must acknowledge the complicity of the entire Catholic Church and the Vatican, not just some individuals.
• Action must accompany any apology. This includes disclosing all documents on the schools and graves, as well as full payment of compensation which some estimate to be more than $60 million. It also includes repatriation of artefacts, repudiation of the colonial Doctrine of Discovery, and prosecution and extradition of abuser priests.
• All expenses — roughly $50 to $100 million for previous papal visits — should be paid entirely by the Vatican.
• The location, timing and all major decisions should be made by the survivors themselves.

The four points follow local reactions that poured in following Pope Francis' apology.

After watching Francis' apology, Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie said he was angry and disappointed.

"Come on let's get real, it was a forced apology.

"It was a political apology.

"When someone is forced to apologise, I don't think that is a sincere apology," said Louie.

Thousands of Indigenous children were forced into Canadian Government residential schools run by the United, Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic churches.

Around 60% of the schools were Catholic-run.

"That church is a multi-billion-dollar organisation. It's rich, very rich and it caused the loss of our First Nations language, a lot of cultural damage, and it should be bucking up some of those billions to go towards the damages of the past," added Louie.

"There should be a criminal investigation done, criminal," he said.

"If just two non-native graves were found in this country, what would the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) do? They'd launch a criminal investigation.

"Here you have 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops - where's the criminal investigation? There is still too much racism."

He added that Francis' apology came too late and now is the time for action.

"No more nice words; no more phoney, forced apologies. We need some anger and action.

"It is anger and action time in my opinion," said Louie.

The archbishop of Edmonton, Richard Smith, says the apology from Pope Francis for the role the Roman Catholic Church played in the residential school system is just the first step on the road to healing.

Smith says the pope also made it clear to the bishops that an apology needs to be followed up with concrete action, especially at the local level.

"Indigenous peoples across the country are distinct and they're autonomous. We've got to be really careful to avoid a perpetuation of colonial mentality, whereby we say to them: ‘Here are your problems — we know how to fix it and here's what we will do for you,"' Smith said.

"Those days are over."

At a press conference the day before Francis' apology at the Vatican, a series of Assembly of First Nations delegates spoke for an hour with nary a word about their actual conversation with the Holy Father; they merely read at length their prepared statements obviously aimed at a political base at home that had opposed the Vatican meeting altogether - so reports the National Post.

Sources

• CBC
• National Post
• Global News
• Global News

The Most Rev. Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, is visiting Canada from April 29 to May 3 to highlight the church's desire to pursue reconciliation with indigenous people. Besides the local stop, he will meet with Anglican indigenous leaders and other indigenous people in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Toronto.

Welby's visit on May 2 to the Woodland Cultural Centre, which is adjacent to the former Mohawk Institute residential school, will include a meeting with survivors. A prayer service with indigenous leaders will be held afterwards at the nearby Mohawk Chapel which was built in 1785 and is the first Protestant church in Upper Canada.

The Mohawk Institute is considered Canada's longest-running residential school, operating from 1828 to 1970. It was run by the Anglican Church that has apologised to indigenous communities for its role in the school system. Continue reading

This is National Chief, Gerald Antoine's description of Pope Francis' apology for the part the Catholic Church played in Canada's residential school system.

"That is the feeling that I have, because there is a possibility," he said moments after the apology.

"Today is a day that we've been waiting for and certainly one that will be uplifted in our history," said Antoine.

His comments came following a delegation of indigenous tribes - First Nations, Inuit and Métis - to the Vatican.

Another leader, Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit, said that people will have different perspectives of the apology, but "Today we have a piece of the puzzle.

"We have a heartfelt expression from the church that was delivered by Pope Francis in an empathetic and caring way.

"I was touched by the way in which he expressed his sorrow and also the way in which he condemned the actions of the Church in particular," Obed said.

Former national chief, Phil Fontaine, who first gave attention to the matter in 1990, says he hoped the long-sought apology would come.

However, Fontaine says he was shocked when he heard the Pope say: "I am very sorry."

Jubilation

The jubilation was felt early on by the wider group.

The indigenous delegation strongly felt the enormity of what they were up against going to Rome, writes Tanya Talaga, an Anishinaabe journalist for Canada's Globe and Mail.

"This has been a CCCB (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops) controlled trip and, at times, it has felt like an organised pilgrimage, complete with Mass being offered every day at 6pm in the hotel basement.

"But this delegation is well aware of what it is up against.

"On Monday, the Métis delegation went rogue after their meeting with the Pontiff, the first of four private audiences.

"Instead of getting back on the idling church buses, they paraded through St Peter's Square, led by youth fiddlers.

"It was a sight to behold. Their red sashes swayed as they sashayed out of the Vatican.

"One elder even danced in her wheelchair," she wrote.

The apology

The apology came on Saturday (NZ time) after a week of talks with First Nations, Inuit and Métis delegations in Rome.

"I feel shame - sorrow and shame - for the role that a number of Catholics, particularly those with educational responsibilities, have had in all these things that wounded you, in the abuses you suffered and in the lack of respect shown for your identity, your culture and even your spiritual values" said the pope.

"All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask for God's forgiveness and I want to say to you with all my heart: I am very sorry.

"And I join my brothers, the Canadian bishops, in asking your pardon.

"Clearly, the content of the faith cannot be transmitted in a way contrary to the faith itself: Jesus taught us to welcome, love, serve and not judge; it is a frightening thing when, precisely in the name of the faith, counter-witness is rendered to the Gospel."

Apology's context

An estimated 150,000 indigenous children were forced to attend Canadian Government-built residential schools to assimilate themselves into the Canadian society to deal with what was once called the "Indian problem".

The system forcibly separated children from their families for extended periods of time and forbade them to acknowledge their indigenous heritage and culture or to speak their own languages.

Former students tell of extensive and systemic abuse — physical and sexual — at the hands of authorities within the system. Indigenous leaders have termed the residential schools' system a "cultural genocide".

At least 4,100 deaths - due mainly to tuberculosis caused by deplorable living conditions - have been documented at the former residential schools where thousands of confirmed and unmarked graves have been found.

The State schools were run by the United, Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic churches. More than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.

The State and the other churches have already apologised, however former mayor of Kamloops and retired newspaper editor Mel Rothenburger says all aspects of Canadian society have a role to play in what happens next.

"Let's not forget residential schools were built by the Canadian government. The Catholic and Anglican churches were, in effect, the contractors who ran them. All aspects of Canadian society have a role to play in what happens now. That includes the media, which need to shed biases and assumptions and lead responsibly."

Francis to visit Canada

During the apology, Francis said he would like to visit Canada this year around the feast of St Anne, mother of Mary.

"This year, I would like to be with you on that day," Francis said.

"I won't come in the winter!" he joked, drawing laughs.

Canadian government

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country's history "will forever be stained" by the legacy of the schools and that he was looking forward to the papal visit.

"Today's apology is a step forward in acknowledging the truth of our past.

"We cannot separate the legacy of the residential school system from the institutions that created, maintained, and operated it, including the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church," he said in a statement.

For Chief Gerald Antoine, a key remaining concern is a formal recognition by the Canadian government that the residential schools were part of a systemic attempt at "cultural genocide" or, as he explained it, an attempt "to kill the Indian in the child" and force them to assimilate.

Sources

• CBC
• National Post
• MountainView Today
• CFJC Today
• Globe and Mail
• CNS
• La Croix International
• The Vatican

The first Europeans to arrive in the Amazon were "invaders," she said.

"They never asked permission of mother nature or of the people who lived there. They imposed the cross and the Bible. That caused a great deal of resentment," and in some cases forced indigenous peoples from their territories.

But when the pope, during his 2018 visit to Peru, asked Amazonian people to tell the church how it should walk with them, "that was a question that asked permission," she told Catholic News Service.

Pijachi, an Ocaina Huitoto woman who is not Catholic, said that when she heard that, she spoke to the elders of her people, who approved of her participation in presynod gatherings as long as the church respected indigenous cultures.

"The elders said that first the Catholic Church and all churches must recognize us as having a right to our own culture and customs, our own spirituality," she added.

"They must not impose themselves and change" those beliefs.

For many indigenous peoples, evangelization meant relocation from their territories to church-run communities known as reductions, as well as the loss of their languages and traditions, she said.

"The pain is alive and still there."

The culture and spirituality of Amazonian indigenous people remain strong "as long as we have our territory, our rivers, our sacred places, food and our seeds, the elements of our rituals," Pijachi said.

She said she sees the synod as an opportunity to talk with "a great friend, a great elder, (Pope) Francis, who can carry our voice" to places where it otherwise would not be heard.

Environmental destruction by extractive industries such as logging, mining and oil companies has been a recurring theme in the synod.

"The people who come to extract (natural resources) don't live there," Pijachi said. "They live in Europe; they live in mansions in the big cities. All they're interested in is money."

The damage to the environment "is a spiritual death and a cultural death" for indigenous people, she said, adding that some whose actions or policies result in destruction are Catholic.

"The same person who received first Communion, who was married in the church, is the one who is cutting down the forest, who does not understand respect for creation," she said. "The same one who was baptized, who went to confession, who received Communion, who goes to Mass on Sunday is the governor of a state and pays no attention" to how public policies affect people.

"I asked (the bishops), ‘Is that important to you?'" she said. Pijachi addressed the synod assembly Oct. 9. Continue reading

Bishop Michael Smith holds it up as a symbol of progress made by Maori and as an emblem of the partnerships formed between Anglicans in Aotearoa and Episcopalians in the United States.

It also symbolises the church's responsibility to advocate for social justice.

Smith was given the flag 2003 when he was a member of an American delegation attending a meeting of the Anglican Indigenous Network in Rotorua.

Members of each delegation were invited to bring flags that represented their native cultures.

Smith, a member of the Potawatomi tribe, is originally from Oklahoma, and he chose to bring that state's flag which features the battle shield of an Osage warrior and other Native American icons.

Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, who hosted meeting asked if he could have it and Smith gladly agreed. Then Vercoe gave Smith his Maori Anglican one.

When he received the flag Smith was a priest serving on an American Indian reservation in Minnesota. He was honoured to receive the flag but only later learned its full significance

In 2008, after Smith had become bishop of the Diocese of North Dakota, he met the Maori bishops at that year's Lambeth Conference.

They explained the flag's significance but said it would be improper to return such a gift.

They suggested, however, that it may be proper to arrange for the flag to be returned to the Maori after Smith's and Vercoe's deaths, which is what Smith will do. (Vercoe died in 2007.)

Source

• Episcopal News Service
• Image: Episcopal News Service

Before the Conference, the delegation met with former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is now the Head of the United Nations Development Programme.

The delegation also met with New Zealand's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the former Deputy Prime Minister, Jim McLay.

At the conference, the delegation from Aotearoa was joined by delegations from Australia (comprising Aboriginal and separate Torres St representatives) as well as First Nation delegations from Canada, Hawaii and the USA.

They were welcomed by representatives of the Shinnecock-Sewanaka people, who are the tangata whenua of Manhattan.

The AIN conference ran from April 14 to April 17, and according to Brigitte Te Aweawe-Bevan, who was in the Aotearoa delegation, each of the delegations drew strength and solidarity from sharing "each other's' concerns, celebrations and ideas".

Source

• ACNS
• Image: ACNS

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the United States is calling on Pope Francis to clarify and repudiate any remaining legal status of what is known as the "Doctrine of Discovery".

The LCWR also wants the Pope to issue a pastoral statement to courts of settler nations, urging them to change laws derived from the doctrine.

The Doctrine of Discovery is a series of papal bulls, or decrees, which gave Christian explorers the right to lay claim to any land that was not inhabited by Christians and was available to be "discovered".

If its inhabitants could be converted, they might be spared. If not, they could be enslaved or killed.

The Doctrine of Discovery remains influential in legal circles and, since 1823, has been enshrined in US law.

It is often cited as a way of arguing that nomadic Native American Indians occupied the land, but did not own it.

In 2005, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited the doctrine in a land-claim ruling against the Oneidas nation.

Late last year, 13 Catholic groups, including the Loreto sisters, officially asked the Pope to rescind the decrees.

"When I learned about it, I was horrified," said Loreto Sister Maureen Fiedler, who has sent a letter to the Pope on the subject.

Her order marked its 200th anniversary by challenging "the papal sanctioning of Christian enslavement and power over non-Christians".

US indigenous groups have sought to overturn the doctrine since at least 1984.

In its 2007 Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations condemned policies like the Doctrine of Discovery.

If the Church was to disavow the doctrine, it would remove a legal argument against tribal land claims, said Oren Lyons, a faith keeper of the Turtle clan in the Onondaga nation.

The Vatican has said that later bulls and papal apologies show the Church no longer supports the doctrine.

"The wrongs done to the indigenous people need to be honestly acknowledged," Saint John Paul II said in 1998.

He also delivered a sweeping apology in 2000 for the Church's mistreatment of groups, including indigenous peoples.

Sources

• Huffington Post
• New York Daily News
• Image: Legends of America