Wrote the President of Mexico Pope Francis To apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the persecution of indigenous peoples during the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.
The request was made in a two-page letter The Vatican Before temporarily returning many of the ancient indigenous manuscripts kept in its library before the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico the following year.
The letter, dated October 2, was posted on President Anders Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Twitter page on Saturday, the same day. Mexico City officials decided to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus, which protesters threatened to knock down.
The letter was delivered to Pope Lopez Obrador’s wife, Beatriz Gutierrez Miller, who met with him at the Vatican on Friday after meeting with Italian President Sergio Materella.
Lopez Obrador said the Spanish Crown, the Spanish government and the Vatican should have apologized for the “most reprehensible atrocities” committed since their arrival in Mexico in 1521.
“Not only do they deserve a generous attitude towards us, but it is also a commitment that will never do anything disrespectful to their beliefs and cultures.
The Catholic Church played an important role in colonizing Spain USA And expanded its empire, establishing missions to convert indigenous peoples to Christianity.
Lopez Obrador A similar request was made last year In a letter to King Philip and the Pope of Spain, but to the Government of Spain The petition was rejected outright.
The pope apologized to Bolivia in 2015 for the church’s role in the persecution of Latin America during the Spanish colonial era.
In a letter to the Vatican this month, LaPaz Obrador called for the return of three codes, including Codex Borgia, a specially colored screen-folded book that spans dozens of pages depicting the gods and rituals of ancient central Mexico.
This pre-conquest is one of the best preserved examples of Aztec-style writing that exists today. In colonial Mexico, Catholic authorities ordered the removal of such codes as a work of the devil and burned hundreds or even thousands in the coming decades. . 1521 victory.
Lopez Obrador urges the Vatican to return two more ancient codecs, the Codex Borgia, as well as its maps. The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan For one year loan in 2021.
The nationalist president is planning a number of events to mark next year’s anniversary.
The Vatican has not yet responded to the request, but its museums and archives have in the past released various manuscripts and works of art following requests from other countries.
Authorities in Mexico City on Saturday removed a statue of Christopher Columbus two days before protesters planned to knock it down during a commemoration of the Italian navigator’s arrival in the United States.
The Ministry of Culture said the statue was renamed Reformation Avenue at the request of city officials. Was removed from and brought back for restoration.
Activists staged a protest on Monday, October 12, 1492, for the date Columbus arrived in the United States, saying, “We are going to knock it down.”
In Mexico, the date is celebrated as La Reza (Day of the Day), in recognition of the country’s mixed indigenous and European heritage.
Mayor Claudia Shanebaum said the statue could be returned once restoration work is completed. “Perhaps it will be important … a collective reflection of what (Columbus) represents, especially over the next year,” he said at a press conference.
