The Doctrine of Discovery was a Papal Decree (“Bull”) by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493.
It gave the rulers of “Christian nations” permission to conquer non-Christian lands and rule them, steal their resources, and enslave Indigenous peoples: any land not inhabited by Christians was available to be "discovered" (stolen) and exploited by Christian rulers. It declared that "the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for, and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself." If the inhabitants of a discovered territory were not Christian, the land was considered “uninhabited” and could be seized and its residents converted (“saved”). If they did not, mass murder was permitted.
The Doctrine gave Spain the exclusive right and trade in all lands “discovered” by Columbus in 1492, even though Columbus stupidly thought he had found India (read “The India Road” by Peter Wibaux how the Portuguese fooled him so brilliantly).
It established a line one hundred leagues west of the Portuguese islands of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands, giving Spain the exclusive right to acquire territory and trade in all lands west of the line, and Portugal everything to the east (the real India!). All others were forbidden to do anything without the permission of Spain (west) and Portugal (east).
In the mind of the Vatican - and all obedient Christianity at the time - Spain and Portugal owned the World - Spain with a monopoly on the New World, and Portugal, all of Africa, Asia and the real India.
The Doctrine of Discovery became the basis of all European claims in the Americas as well as the foundation for the United States western expansion. It played a central role in the Spanish and Portuguese, and later the English and Americans, brutal conquests of Indigenous peoples, which resulted in the deaths of at least 55 million people and the loss of much of the world’s cultural diversity (ProtoThema Infographic, note WWII from 1935 to 1945 killed at least 85 million people).
The Doctrine of Discovery was incorporated into the legal systems of colonizing nations.
In a unanimous decision by United States of America Supreme Court in 1823 (the case of Johnson v. McIntosh) Chief Justice John Marshall wrote "that the principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to New World lands." In essence, American Indians had only a right of occupancy, which could be abolished. The Doctrine was cited in legal decisions into the 21st century, including in US Supreme Court decisions in 2005.
Many Catholics for decades advocated forcefully to the Vatican to formally revoke the Doctrine and recognize the human rights of Indigenous "non-Christian peoples." The Parliament of the World’s Religions with thousands in attendance representing at least 50 faiths in Melbourne (2009) and in Salt Lake City (2015) called for the Vatican to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. Indigenous participants at the Parliament made a powerful “Indigenous People’s Statement to the World”.
Finally, on March 30, 2023, the Vatican formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery stating that it is “not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church”. “In no uncertain terms, the Church’s magisterium upholds the respect due to every human being. The Catholic Church therefore repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political “Doctrine of Discovery".
We honor the tenacity and bravery of many who made this happen. Change is happening. Pope John Paul II in one of his many journeys to Canada said, “Not only is Christianity relevant to the Indian people, but Christ, in the members of His Body, is Himself Indian.”
But this is just the very beginning of a long journey toward healing and righting the immoral damage done over centuries by the Doctrine of Discovery. It is so very disturbing and sad that TODAY, in 2025, a number of global politicians want to lead millions of their followers to a return of their nations to their former immoral and murderous ways.
As SOJA sings in I Don’t Want to Wait…”Wrong is easy and right is hard”.
References
The Vatican. 2023. Joint Statement of the Dicasteries for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development on the “Doctrine of Discovery”
Doctrine of Discovery https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/doctrine-discovery-1493
An Indigenous People’s Statement to the World. 2015. CiviCRM
Indigenous Peoples. Parliament of the World's Religions
ProtoThema. The wars with the highest death tolls
