Vatican repudiates colonial-era 'doctrine of discovery'

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Thursday formally repudiated the colonial-era "doctrine of discovery", used centuries ago to justify European conquests of Africa and the Americas, saying "it is not part of Catholic Church teaching".

The Vatican acknowledged in a statement from its culture and human development departments that papal documents from the 15th century were used by colonial powers to give legitimacy to their actions, which included slavery.