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While not an explicit edict for the extermination of Native Americans, a series of 15th-century papal decrees, collectively known as the
Doctrine of Discovery, laid the groundwork for European colonization and its devastating consequences for Indigenous populations. These decrees, including Dum Diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455), and Inter Caetera (1493), granted Christian nations the right to claim and exploit lands inhabited by non-Christians, justifying the displacement, enslavement, and violence against Indigenous peoples in Africa and the Americas.
The Doctrine of Discovery became a legal and ideological justification for European claims in the Americas and for the dispossession and subjugation of Indigenous peoples. Although later popes and even the Vatican itself acknowledged and apologized for the historical mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and the role of the Church in assimilation policies and residential schools, the Doctrine of Discovery’s harmful legacy continues to be felt in various aspects of society, including land rights and legal systems.
It is important to note that the Vatican formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery” in 2023, stating that it “is not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church”. However, the repudiation does not diminish the historical impact of the doctrine and its contribution to the suffering of Indigenous peoples.
