To the editor:
After studying the “Doctrine of Discovery” (papal pronouncements made in the 15th century legitimizing the subjugation of native peoples all over the world and dispossession of their lands by European Christian monarchs), Houlton Pax Christi members felt moved to appeal to Pope Francis to renounce this doctrine of his predecessors. According to Sherri Mitchell, Esq. of the Penobscot Nation, this is not only a shame of the past, but a doctrine that continues to be used as a basis for U.S. law and that of other nations.
Several other church bodies, including the Episcopal Church (2009) and the World Council of Churches (2012) have renounced the doctrine, calling it “fundamentally opposed to the Gospel of Jesus.”
Our statement of renunciation of the “Doctrine of Discovery” has been accepted by members of Pax Christi Maine and forwarded to the national and international offices of this predominantly Catholic peace and justice organization. We are pleased to join the people of the Onondaga Nation, Pax Christi New Zealand and the Passionists in appealing to the Pope to repudiate such unjust and unpeaceful papal bulls that have adversely affected millions of indigenous peoples around the world historically and continue into the 21st century.
Mary Beth DiMarco
Houlton
