Catholic responses to Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 48 and questions regarding the "Doctrine of Discovery"

OTTAWA, March 29, 2016 /CNW/ - In response to Call to Action 48 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and to questions on the legal concepts known as "Doctrine of Discovery" and terra nullius, Catholic leaders, representing Bishops, religious communities, Indigenous People and laity, have issued two documents. Both texts are signed by representatives of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Canadian Religious Conference, the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council, and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

In the first of two texts, the Catholic signatories express support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as "a way forward to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada."

The Catholic response to Call to Action 48 appeals "to all our Catholic brothers and sisters -- laity, members of institutes of consecrated life and of societies of apostolic life, deacons, priests, and Bishops" -- to make eight commitments to "continue to walk together with Indigenous Peoples in building a more just society where their gifts and those of all people are nurtured and honoured." The commitments include

• Working with Catholic educational institutions and formation programs in telling the history and experience of Indigenous Peoples
• Working with seminaries and other formation centres to promote a "culture of encounter" by including the history the history of the Indian Residential Schools and of Canadian missionary work with its "weaknesses and strengths"
• Encouraging partnerships between Indigenous groups and health care facilities
• Encouraging a restorative justice model within the criminal justice system
• Supporting the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women
• Deepening relationships, dialogue and collaboration with Indigenous People
• Inviting Catholic parishes and institutions to become better acquainted with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The second of the two Catholic documents "considers and repudiates illegitimate concepts and principles used by Europeans to justify the seizure of land previously held by Indigenous Peoples and often identified by the terms 'Doctrine of Discovery' and terra nullius." The signatories say "now is an appropriate time to issue a public statement in response to the errors and falsehoods perpetuated, often by Christians, during and following the so-called Age of Discovery." After outlining five principles which reject how these legal constructs have been used to disenfranchise Indigenous Peoples, the signatories again affirm the eight commitments made in their first document. An appendix provides an historical overview of the development of the two legal concepts vis-a-vis Catholic teaching and of their repudiation.

-Link to A Catholic Response to TRC Call to Action 48 (On Adopting and Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
http://www.cccb.ca/site/images/stories/pdf/catholic%20response%20call%20to%20action%2048.pdf

-Link to The "Doctrine of Discovery" and Terra Nullius: A Catholic Response
http://www.cccb.ca/site/images/stories/pdf/catholic%20response%20to%20doctrine%20of%20discovery%20and%20tn.pdf

-Link to an interview with Bishop Donald Bolen, Chairman of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, about the two texts
http://www.cccb.ca/site/images/stories/pdf/interview%20bishop%20bolen%20march%2024%202016.pdf  

Media interviews: Bishop Donald Bolen of Saskatoon and Chairman of the CCCB Commission for Justice and Peace, as well as Archbishop Murray Chatlain of Keewatin-Le Pas and a member of the Commission, are available for interviews in English. Bishop Raymond Poisson of Joliette and a member of the CCCB Commission for Justice and Peace is available for interviews in French.

SOURCE CANADIAN CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS

For further information: For Bishop Bolen: Kiply Yaworski, Coordinator of Communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, [e-mail] or 306-659-5844 (office) or 306-651-3935 (home); For Archbishop Chatlain: [phone] (he also speaks Dene); For Bishop Poisson: [phone]; For more information: Deacon René Laprise, Director of Media Relations, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Phone: [phone] #225, Cell: 613-323-0895, [e-mail]