Doctrine of Discovery

The Vatican repudiates 'Doctrine of Discovery,' which was used to justify colonialism
March 30, 2023 - Nearly 500 years after papal decrees were used to rationalize Europe's colonial conquests, the Vatican repudiated those decrees on Thursday, saying the "Doctrine of Discovery" that was used to justify snuffing out Indigenous people's culture and livelihoods is not part of the Catholic faith.
ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery January 2018
How is it possible that any Pope, King or Queen, or explorers from Europe could “discover” lands in the New World if
Indigenous Peoples were already occupying such lands, according to our own laws and legal orders?
The Doctrine of Discovery emanates from a series of Papal Bulls (formal statements from the Pope) and extensions,
originating in the 1400s. Discovery was used as legal and moral justification for colonial dispossession of sovereign
Indigenous Nations, including First Nations in what is now Canada. During the European “Age of Discovery”, Christian
explorers “claimed” lands for their monarchs who felt they could exploit the land, regardless of the original inhabitants.