Annapolis Friend, Francis Wayne, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner serving in Kenya draws our attention to the release this past week on March 30, 2023 of a long-awaited Vatican document denouncing the destructive empire-building and colonization policies and practices that existed for the past four hundred years that robbed indigenous people of their liberty and property. Subsequent to the 1573 papal decree by Pope Paul III to protect native peoples, centuries went by as ecclesiastical leaders turned a blind eye to the exploitation and brutal treatment of indigenous people. Francis W. notes ” This is a step in the right direction from a high voice in the world.”
Our Friend shares this link to the announcement and story in the National Catholic Reporter... https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/vatican-formally-repudiates-doctrine-discovery-used-justify-colonial
A copy of the two-page document released jointly by the Vatican’s Dicasteries for Culture and Education and Promoting Integral Human Development appears at this link in the Vatican News …
The Catholic Church is not alone in its failure to protect indigenous people. The Society of Friends is not without blame as it participated in practices that we know now deprived indigenous people of their liberty and cultural heritage.