A Letter from a Native of the Americas

This letter from Pennie Opal Plant of San Pablo, California, distributed with Pennie's permission, addresses Pope Benedict XIV's recent remarks that the Church had not imposed itself on the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

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Greetings,

Recently this month, the Pope said the Church had not imposed itself on the indigenous peoples of the Americas and made comments that the Roman Catholic Church had purified them (us) and a revival of their (our) religions would be a backward step.

Myself, along with many other indigenous people of the Americas were shocked and horrified to hear this, given the history of the Church's involvement in genocide, torture and abuse of our people. It is even more absurd in light of the fact that the Church, under the previous Pope John Paul, spoke in 1992 of mistakes in the evangelization of native peoples of the Americas.

What the current Pope has said is arrogant and historically inaccurate. He should be ashamed of his ignorance and lack of compassion. How dare he attempt to rewrite history in favor of the Church that kept us as slaves, tortured us and killed those of us who would not convert to Catholicism. Does he not know his own history? Is he so arrogant that he would rewrite history as many people in power are wont to do? This is disgusting, immoral and inhumane.

We lived in the Americas just fine before the European invaders got lost and stumbled on to our shores. There were millions of us here from the Arctic Circle to the tip of Patagonia. We had trade routes that extended for thousands of miles. We invented the concept of zero before any other group on Mother Earth, had immense cities and learning centers, highly advanced civilizations and agriculture techniques that are still used today. We were and are a spiritual people with highly evolved concepts that are only now beginning to be understood by quantum mechanics and physics. We have a culture of sharing and generosity that takes care of the old people, the sick and the weak.

Europeans brought us the concepts of selfishness and greed, as well as venereal disease, small pox, malaria, mass genocide, torture, death and suffering. The invaders continue to steal our land and resources. The Pope would do well to make amends and restitution rather than promote a false history of the Church's relationship to Native Americans.

Jesus Christ was a holy person who was loving and kind. It seems to me that the current Pope would do well to emulate him. It might even do him some good to explore some of the literature written by Native Americans so that might understand what actually happened here.

Sincerely,
Pennie Opal Plant
San Pablo, California, USA