Indigenous People Rights in the Popes Teaching – History of the Problem

Abstract

In the history of the struggle of the North American Indigenous people for the respect of their rights, the Catholic Church has always been portrayed as the one who most contributed to the violation of the fundamental rights of them, including the right to dignity and self-determination. The attitude of the governments of colonial states or the newly founded Canadian state or the United States or other Christian denominations, which supported the policy of assimilation, displacement and marginalization of the ethnic population, is almost completely ignored. In the widely held discussions in Canada and the United States, the voice of the Catholic Church which defended the indigenous people of the American continent is completely forgotten. The words of subsequent popes who demanded respect for the rights of the indigenous people, and they cut off from the policy of dehumanization are ignored, or even negated. Therefore, it is worth recalling that from the very beginning the Catholic Church, through its superior as the Pope, protested against the violation of the rights of indigenous people of North America and firmly cut off from any actions of state power aimed at assimilation of this population. In fact, it is thanks to the work of missionaries who, with the support of the Holy See, have preserved the culture, language or tradition of the Indigenous people in North America. This article reminds the forgotten voice of the popes in defense of the rights of the North American Ethnic People.