Bishop Stephen A. Hero delivers homily for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Bishop Stephen A. Hero delivered a homily at Sacred Heart for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. During his address, Hero addressed the Doctrine of Discovery, noting that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops organized a symposium with experts on the subject earlier this spring in Edmonton.

Hero clarified that the Doctrine of Discovery was never part of Church teaching. He noted that the term was first used officially in a 1985 United States court case to summarize various legal principles from the colonial era. To support this, Hero cited the 1537 papal document Sublimis Deus, in which Pope Paul III instructed bishops and colonial powers to uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples. The document stated that Indigenous people should not be deprived of their liberty or property and should not be enslaved.

The homily also referenced Call to Action #47 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This call to action requests that all levels of Canadian government repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius.