Protesting A Papal Bull

"In protest - I now tear up the - Papal bull, Inter Caetera, - here at the Church of Saint Stephen in Anoka Minnesota - because it represents the domination of indigenous peoples and the exploitation of lands".

Tony Castanha, the international leader of the movement to influence the Vatican to revoke this 15th century Papal bull, recently contacted me, and did so after reading my article Changing The Racist Name Of The Knights of Columbus, which was posted on the Indigenous Peoples Literature website. It can be found at: http://www.towahkon.org/Changeknights.html

Essentially, Inter Caetera is the cornerstone of an international system today based on the same ideology of dominion, subjugation and exploitation of lands and peoples as ushered into Africa and the Americas in the 15th century. We are not saying that the Catholic church is perpetuating the same atrocities they did 500 years ago, but what we are saying is that the same ideology and mentality of dominion grounded in contemporary law is ROOTED IN THEIR LAWS and this must be acknowledged and addressed.

The revocation of Inter Caetera will definitely announce before the world community that the Vatican no longer supports the principle of subjugation that it promulgated five and a half centuries ago. The Roman Catholic church will be demonstrating its seriousness about respecting the rights and dignity of all peoples. The revocation of Inter Caetera will be an extremely important spiritual and symbolic gesture of peace and healing in creating a culture of peace on earth.

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• Catholic
• Dahlheimer
• Native
• Indian
• Papal
• bull