On May 4, 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull known as 'Inter Caetera' that provided Portugal and Spain the religious backing to expand their territories in Africa and the Americas for the sake of spreading Christianity.
The doctrine, dating back to the 15th century, included a series of edicts known as papal bulls, that were later used to justify colonizing Indigenous lands.
While the doctrine justified the colonization, conversion and enslavement of Indigenous peoples, and the seizure of their lands, scholars say it also laid the foundation for Canada's claim to land and the Indian Act, which laid the groundwork for residential schools. The Doctrine of Discovery had also been abrogated by other papal bulls, encyclicals, statements and decrees, it said.
However, there continue to be calls for an official renouncement, not only from the Indigenous community, but from some members of the Catholic Church. In an email to CBC News, Jonathan Lesarge, a spokesman for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, echoed that the Vatican has previously clarified that the papal bulls associated with the Doctrine of Discovery have no legal or moral authority in the Church.
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