Ancient Debate Finally Resolved
And most of us almost missed it!
An ancient unresolved debate from the 15th century that was recently resolved in the sky.
In July of 2022 Pope Francis visited Canada. A visit had been asked for in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report in 2015. It took seven years for the pope to respond. It was anticipated that he would come and do what had been asked of him, which was to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. Only recently did I learn about some dynamics on that trip I did not understand at the time. I think these dynamics are helpful to understand the impact of the Pope’s visit for some. They are also important for understanding the journey of repairing the relationship between all churches and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
This article does assume you know something about the Doctrine of Discovery. If you need a refresher on this 15th century series of papal bulls upon which a great deal of colonial history is built check out the resources here.
Full disclosure. I am not Catholic. I don’t presume to have full understanding on these matters, but what I learned has been helpful for me and I hope it might also be for you, whether you are Catholic or not. One final disclaimer. The Pope’s visit was received in vastly different ways by Indigenous People’s across Canada. This article in no way is an attempt to argue with, question or challenge those experiences. It is directed at non-Indigenous Canadians seeking to understand some of the pathways to right relationship.
In this article, I will lay out the new insights, fill in some of the details, provide you with a video link for an 11-minute overview of the Pope’s 2022 visit and then offer some thoughts on the implications of these events.
New Insights
The Pope’s visit ended an unresolved debate from the 1500’s about whether or not Indigenous Peoples were fully human.
The Pope did in the air, what he could not do on the ground.
Things are complicated (this is an old insight, with new forms).
1. The Finally Resolved Debate
This was brand new information for me, and provided some really helpful context. The Valladolid Debates held in Spain in 1550-1551 was a series of debates between Catholic clergy about whether or not Indigenous Peoples were fully human in order to determine whether or not they could be converted to Christianity. The results of the debates were deemed to be inconclusive and the pope at the time evidently said something to the effect of, there were great arguments on both sides, I guess we will have to wait and see how things turn out.
This left, officially unresolved in the Catholic church, the human status of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas from the 1550s to the 2020s!
According to Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, this debate is finally resolved in the statements that Pope Francis makes in the summer of 2022. Much of what the Pope said on the ground here in Canada was received as overly mild, without real teeth. Sinclair, however, argues that the power of what Francis says lies in his affirmations of who Indigenous Peoples are. According to Sinclair, Pope Francis unequivocally resolves the outstanding debate and declared firmly that humanity.
2. What Happened In The Air?
By the end of the Pope’s visit most people felt he had not said much of substance. There was a great deal of disappointment overall in terms of the content he delivered. However, Pope Francis became much more animated and forceful in his speech while on the plane back to Rome. This raised questions for many non-Catholics, why wait until you are in the airplane??? The people would have appreciated hearing these words face to face!
What I have learned is that there are questions of jurisdiction and politics in the Catholic church, as in any human institution. In this case, evidently, Francis was trying to be careful to respect the authority of the Canadian Bishops who had authority when they were on the ground. But in the air, at that point Francis could speak freely under his own authority. He did in the air, what he could not do on the ground. One of the things he did in the air was to clearly name that genocide was one of the legacies of residential schools in Canada, something the Canadian Council of Bishops has been unwilling to do.
I for one, had no idea that the Pope’s address from the airplane was not an after-thought, but perhaps the message we should have listened most closely to.
3. Things Are Complicated
Alright, so this is not a new insight, but one that earned some new twists and tangles. This question of authority in the Catholic church is a sticky one, and not really one for me to worry too much about. However, trying to understand better from within the structure sometimes can help bring greater perspective.
One of the complicated turns that I think is important comes out of the idea that because the Catholic church sees the Pope as infallible, repudiation becomes fundamentally problematic. To repudiate a doctrine decried by a previous Pope within the logic of the system itself is to undermine this principle of infallibility. As an outsider I can critique whether such a principle should exist in the first place, but then we must judge the actions of the institution according to its own internal logic. This complication helped me understand why the Pope could not and would not be more clear about renouncing the attitudes and actions of the past that laid the foundation for the harms of residential schools.
If you are interested, here is an 11-minute video made by CBC which provides an overview of the Pope’s trip and a sampling of reactions.
Implications
What does all this matter?
It is not insignificant that after the Pope declared from the plane that residential schools committed genocide the Canadian government did as well.
Although it took seven years and multiple delegations of Indigenous People going to the Vatican to request a visit, the Pope finally did respond both with apologies, a version of repudiation, and a step toward healing and right relationship. This clears the way for other denominations to take their own steps toward healing and right relationship. Many have used the Catholic church as a scapegoat for the principles of the Doctrine of Discovery and the laws and practices built upon it. A way has now been cleared to begin to dismantle the impacts of those doctrines.
There is now a path cleared for addressing the concept of land and particularly Crown land here in Canada.
Next week, we will look at grumpy courts making bold decisions. Until next time!