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The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery," the theories backed by 15th-century "papal bulls" that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

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The statement, from the Vatican’s development and education offices, marked a historic recognition of the Vaticans own complicity in colonial-era abuses committed by European kingdoms, and Indigenous leaders welcomed it.

The Catholic Bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand strongly support the Vatican’s repudiation of the colonial-era concept of the “Doctrine of Discovery” used by European powers to take over many lands from their indigenous owners. A joint statement (in full ...

The “Doctrine of Discovery,” were theories that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

After repeated calls from Canadian Indigenous communities for the Catholic Church to rescind the so-called “Doctrine of Discovery,” the Vatican has disowned that position, but stopped short of rescinding it.

The Vatican on Thursday formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the theories that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property laws today.

Vaticans says decrees ‘did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples’

The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, the theories backed by 15th-century papal bulls that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today.

Indigenous peoples have long called upon the pope to reject the doctrine, which was built on 15th-century “papal bulls.” Pope Francis acknowledged that the historical measures do not reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples.