Bishop Douglas J. Lucia of Syracuse (NYC) expressed his intent to meet with Pope Francis to discuss the "Doctrine of Discovery," a theological concept utilized throughout the ages to legitimize the indigenous peoples' slavery.
In a Wednesday interview with the Religion News Service, Lucia discussed the succession of papal "bulls" or decrees of the 15th century used by the European Christians to colonize the Indigenous Peoples and their ancestral lands.
Throughout history, Europeans have relied on a series of papal texts, dating all the way back to Pope Nicholas V's "Dum Diversas" in 1452, to legitimize different elements of colonization. This was the start of a bull lineage that several power-hungry monarchs exploited.
It reportedly made its way into a number of subsequent texts, including the "Requerimiento" which was read to indigenous peoples by Spanish conquistadors, who declared that their territory belonged to Spain and forced them to submit to the authority of the king and the pope.
The concept was also evident in 2005 in Sherril v. Oneida's Supreme Court decision which ruled that the repurchase of traditional tribal property does not restore the tribe's sovereignty over it.
Lucia said that he became aware of this history shortly after being named bishop of Syracuse in June 2019. Rev. David McCallum, a Jesuit priest operating in the area at the time, advised Lucia to meet with the chiefs of the nearby Onondaga tribe in the area. McCallum also suggested a trip to the Vatican.
"I've been trying to bring attention to this question of how the church, if it really wants to seek restorative justice, can't just issue apologies," said McCallum. "It has to reckon with this historical context."
Although the numerous Papal Bulls that comprise the Discovery Doctrine were largely abolished or annulled by the Catholic Church centuries earlier, this does nothing to alleviate the "enormity of the trauma and generational impact" of the doctrine on indigenous communities, explained McCallum.
At a planning meeting in mid-June to build a historical park in Syracuse to replace Christopher Columbus' monument, Lucia encountered the issue of the Doctrine of Discovery again.
Lucia claimed he had gained an experience later that day when he met his colleagues online at the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference (USCCB). When clergy started to talk about a new statement about Native Alaskans and Native Americans, Lucia raised questions about indigenous children's residential schools and on the doctrine of discovery. However, the other bishops gave no response to his query.
Still, Lucia believes that the Pope should publicly acknowledge the damage these "bulls" have caused the Indigenous people, as well as issue some kind of statement "to repudiate" the Doctrine of Discovery.
According to an earlier report, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has pledged to help in the country's investigation of former Indigenous boarding schools.
Beyond the present controversial topic in Canada, the same report states that there were more than 350 boarding schools in the United States, which were typically operated by religious organizations. This was based on the claims of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.
Interior secretary Deb Haaland, who is a Laguna Pueblo and is also the first Native American to lead the Indian Affairs office, launched last week a federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to examine the legacy of federal boarding school regulations.
