Pope Benedict XVI admits being wrong on American Indians

In Roman Catholic doctrine, Popes are supposed to be infallible.

So, only rarely do they admit having been wrong.

However, the present Pope, Benedict XVI, who has not been in office for long, already had to admit having been wrong at least twice.

First, on anti Muslim sentences in a speech.

And now, on the indigenous people of the Americas.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

Pope: Indians suffered from Christianization

The pope has recognized that the conversion to Christianity of the American continent brought suffering to the Indians.

Benedict admitted that the indigenous nations have often been ill-treated.

This month, the pope during his visit to Brazil had still said that the bringing of Catholicism supposedly had nothing to do with imposing a foreign culture.

That he said that made many Indians angry.

They called the pope without respect and arrogant.

The president of Venezuela, Chavez, asked Benedict to apologize for this, for denying the ‘holocaust’ of the Indians.

See also History News Network on this.

Jason Coppola, Truthout: “Margarita Gutierrez Romero is the president of the State Coordinator of Indigenous Women Organizations in Chiapas, Mexico. In New York City to participate in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Romero told us, ‘Indigenous peoples are being permanently alienated from our being. We are being stripped, ripped off, and plundered of our values, our spirituality, our spirits, even of our gods,’ she said. Romero was speaking at a side event about the root of the problems affecting her people – the dehumanization caused by the ‘Doctrine of Christian Discovery'”: here.

Scientists tell the story of three 16th century African slaves identified from a mass burial site in Mexico City. Using a combination of genetic, osteological, and isotope analyses, the scientists determined from where in Africa they were likely captured, the physical hardships they experienced as slaves, and what novel pathogens they may have carried with them across the Atlantic: here.

Related articles

• Indigenous Women of the World Unite in Lima, Peru
• 3 Things The Pope Should Discuss On His Visit To Philadelphia
• Nazi bishop Williamson wants consecration without pope’s consent
• In Blow To Right-Wingers, Pope Francis Ends Crackdown On American Nuns
• Eduardo Galeano’s Words Walk the Streets of a Continent
• No Room for Business as Usual at the Summit of the Americas
• Archbishop Romero is a martyr, pope says