Robert Azzi’s article “Red Raiders and Warriors: The persistence of white supremacy” in the July 19 Monitor is clearly a piece of one-sided, anti-Catholic prejudice. Let me attempt to set the record straight.
The purpose of the papal bull of 1493 of Pope Alexander VI, was not, as Azzi put it, to elevate “the pernicious persistence of white supremacy, which plagues us to this day.” Nor did it encourage English settlers to “cleanse” the New England Abenaki from their native habitats through “disease, displacement, occupation, and war.” In fact, the English, who didn’t come to New England until 130 years later, were virulently anti-Catholic and would have repudiated staunchly any papal documents.
Instead, the intent of Alexander’s bull was to legitimize Spain’s discovery of the New World and to encourage the spreading of the saving power of the Gospel, a mission established by Jesus Christ in the book of St. Matthew, “to make disciples of all nations.” Nor does Alexander encourage slavery or the exploitation of native Americans.
Moreover, other papal encyclicals of that era disdain slavery altogether, notably the bull of Pope Eugene IV in 1435, Sicut Dudum. It forcefully condemns it in the Canary Islands, threatening excommunication to those practicing it. Likewise, the bull of Pope Paul III in 1537, Sublimis Deus, explicitly forbids making slaves of the native Americans.
In sum, it is essential to make clear that the Catholic faith has never been about asserting “white privilege.” Instead, it is about promoting freedom and truth for all people.
WILLIAM JUDD
Concord