The "Doctrine of Discovery" of 1493, also known as the Papal Bull "Inter Caetera", was issued by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493. The 1493 Papal Bull stated that land that was not inhabited by Christians could be claimed and exploited in order to expand and instill the Christian faith. Without doubt this was the justification for European/western expansion that resulted in pain, suffering, exploitation and mass extermination. The effects of this dreadful doctrine are felt to this day.
The Doctrine of Discovery declared by the Roman Catholic Church more than 600 years ago, was infiltrated and adopted into European Christian nations solely for the purpose of having a legal basis to confiscate properties that would be in their best interest at any time, and, according to its language, served to devalue and dehumanize peoples and societies of color. Non-compliance to this doctrine would result in various forms of persecution, including slavery and death. In fact, the 1493 Papal Bull was part of an on-going justification of this oppression as stated by Thomas Aquinas in 1271: "Unbelievers deserve not only to be separated from the church, but also to be exterminated from the world by death."
Your Grace, this position as expressed in the Papal Bull has led to several ills in this world, namely slavery, oppression, poverty, discrimination, apartheid, separate but equal laws, Jim Crow, financial ruin, massacres and much more.
Your Grace, we ask you, Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, S.L.D., to repudiate this doctrine immediately to stop the hemorrhaging of people worldwide in the name of Christianity. Per the bible, "Peter opened (his) mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34 - KJV) and therefore stating that God is not biased of individuals or of one group of people over another.
In 1776, the "Declaration of Independence" of the United States forthrightly declared, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Your repudiation of the "The Doctrine of Discovery" would also help us in the United States of America to further enforce and enshrine the "Declaration of Independence" and to then help spread this compelling statement and sentiment throughout the world.
