Queen Elizabeth II must apologize, says the Episcopal Church
3rd August 2009
By George Conger
The Queen must apologize for the wrongs committed by Henry VII and repudiate the “Christian Doctrine of Discovery,” the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church has declared.
On July 17, the triennial meeting of the Episcopal Church’s synod endorsed resolution D035: Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery. The doctrine, “which originated with Henry VII in 1496, held that Christian sovereigns and their representative explorers could assert dominion and title over non-Christian lands with the full blessing and sanction of the Church,” the resolution explained. The principle of the “Doctrine of Discovery” arose in 1493 when Pope Alexander VI gave Spain and Portugal the right to claim non-Christian lands in the new world and Africa, while Henry VII authorized John Cabot to take possession of all lands discovered for the Crown.
Beginning in 1823 the US Supreme Court held that Henry’s charter provided the legal basis for the American government’s ownership of Indian lands as Indian tribes were not independent nations, but “domestic dependent nations”. the rest
posted by Pat Dague @ 7:13 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Will the Episcopal Church itself now disavow its policy of seizing the property of indigenous peoples and return Trinity Wall Street and its numerous properties to the First Nations people who originally inhabited Manhattan Island?
I don't suppose she will bother. After all, it wasn't the Church of England that signed off on this particular issue, it was the Church of Rome. You could ask Papa Benny I imagine, but I doubt he will go for it either.
Then we've got the problem that the House of Windsor is so remote and discontinuous from Hal VII's Tudor line, that a direct path through Stuart and Hanover is no more than an abstract concept.
Slightly worrying though, the prospect of 'the letter' being placed before Her Majesty, who could choke quite badly from the helpless laughter it will cause her. She's not getting any younger you know, and there's none better waiting to take over.
Chris Baker - Durham UK
Post a Comment
<< Home