Quashing an old dogma

The Vatican has formally repudiated centuries-old papal decrees that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of the lands and possessions of indigenous people. In a March 30 statement, the Holy See announced that the papal bulls that form the basis of the Doctrine of Discovery have never been expressions of the Catholic faith and do not “adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples.”

“Doctrine of Discovery” is a legal term articulated in an 1823 U.S. Supreme Court decision. It refers to the idea, put forth by three 15th-century papal bulls, that European kingdoms could justly seize the lands and possessions of indigenous people because they were also spreading Christianity. The doctrine was cited in U.S. and Canadian property law as recently as 2005.

Pope Francis apologized for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the forced assimilation of indigenous people last year, during a tour of Canada. But he didn’t mention the doctrine, and activists demanded its official repudiation. In Quebec, two indigenous activists unfurled a huge banner reading “Rescind the Doctrine” during the pope’s July 28 Mass at the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

The Vatican statement did not assume church responsibility for past abuses, but said that colonial powers “manipulated” papal bulls to justify their immoral actions. The statement also highlighted how subsequent papal decrees, as early as 1537, commanded Christians to respect the property rights and liberty of indigenous people. However, it noted that oppression occurred “at times, without opposition from ecclesiastical authorities.”

Kamakhya Temple David Talukdar/NurPhoto via AP

Human sacrifice at Hindu temple

Indian police announced April 4 they have arrested five men on charges of conducting human sacrifice, almost four years after the victim’s headless body was found at a Hindu temple.

Police said Pradeep Pathak and 11 others allegedly killed 64-year-old Shanti Shaw in 2019, when Shaw was visiting Kamakhya Temple in remote Guwahati with two other women and a Hindu guru. According to police, Pathak orchestrated her killing on the anniversary of his brother’s death in an attempt to appease his spirit and the temple’s goddess, Maa Kamakhya. The case was cold for years until Shaw’s body was identified in January, spurring a new investigation. Seven alleged accomplices remain at large.

The case is not unprecedented—the country’s National Crime Records Bureau logged 103 instances of human sacrifice between 2014 and 2021. About 80 percent of the population is Hindu. —E.R.