A member of our Catholic Study Group recently brought in a book given to him by a friend and was concerned about some allegations against the Church contained in the book. The book, “The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian” by Brian D. Mclaren, seeks to encourage Christians to migrate out of the Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations and into the “Emergent Church,” a movement of new ecclesial groups that is much more friendly to postmodern conventions.
Our friend was particularly concerned about one section of the book on the controversial “Doctrine of Discovery” adopted by the Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery.
In Chapter 4, entitled “The Genocide Card in Your Back Pocket,” Mr. Mclaren describes the “Doctrine of Discovery” by quoting from the 1455 Papal Bull, Romanus Pontifex wherein Pope Nicholas V gives King Alfonso V of Portugal his blanket approval to:
invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit.
The quotation is accurate, and a similar passage may be found in the same pope’s papal bull, Dum Diversas (1452).
An Explanation
Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin, defends the Church against criticisms related to the “Doctrine of Discovery” by making three key distinctions regarding the document’s authority, terminology, and current legal status (Akin):
- Papal Bulls are not inherently infallible: Akin explains that a “bull” simply refers to the physical format of a document, specifically, the round lead seal (or bulla) attached to it, and does not indicate that the document contains infallible teaching. Because infallible papal statements are extremely rare (scholars estimate only six to eight exist out of thousands of papal documents), these documents should not be viewed as an infallible decree.
- It was a political policy, not a theological “doctrine”: Akin clarifies that in a Catholic context, the word “doctrine” usually means an official Church teaching derived from Christ and the apostles. However, the “Doctrine of Discovery” is not a Church teaching at all. Instead, the word “doctrine” is being used in a purely political sense, similar to the Monroe Doctrine or the Reagan Doctrine. The 15th century documents merely describe a policy authorizing political leaders to take certain actions regarding exploration, colonization, and foreign relations during the Age of Exploration.
- It is no longer in force: Finally, Akin notes that the document has absolutely no standing today. Because the Age of Exploration is long over and Canon Law has been completely reorganized, all documents authorizing those historical policies have lapsed in their legal force.
The Doctrine of Discovery Repudiated
While the Age of Discovery is long over, this political policy was formally repudiated by the Holy See in 2023 in its “Joint Statement of the Dicasteries for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development on the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’.” In pertinent part:
6. The “doctrine of discovery” is not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church. Historical research clearly demonstrates that the papal documents in question, written in a specific historical period and linked to political questions, have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith. At the same time, the Church acknowledges that these papal bulls did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples. The Church is also aware that the contents of these documents were manipulated for political purposes by competing colonial powers in order to justify immoral acts against indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesiastical authorities. It is only just to recognize these errors, acknowledge the terrible effects of the assimilation policies and the pain experienced by indigenous peoples, and ask for pardon. Furthermore, Pope Francis has urged: “Never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others, or that it is legitimate to employ ways of coercing others.”
Mr. Mclaren may be excused for not mentioning this repudiation in his book, as it occurred after the book was written, but anybody discussing the issue today would be remiss in failing to mention it.
Works Cited
Akin, Jimmy. “Open Forum.” Catholic Answers Live, Catholic Answers, 24 Jan. 2019, www.catholic.com/audio/cal/open-forum-14.
“Joint Statement of the Dicasteries for Culture and Education and for Promoting Integral Human Development on the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’.” Holy See Press Office, 30 Mar. 2023, press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/03/30/230330b.html.
Mclaren, Brian D. The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian. Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2017.
Nicholas V. “Dum Diversas.” Internet Archive, 18 June 1452, archive.org/details/039.-papa-nicolau-v-dum-diversas-18-jun.-1452.
Nicholas V. “The Bull Romanus Pontifex.” NativeWeb, Jan. 1455. European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and Its Dependencies to 1648, edited by Frances Gardiner Davenport, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1917, pp. 20-26. www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/indig-romanus-pontifex.html.
