From Alanus Anglicus to Pope Nicholas V, a false understanding of the papacy and of papal authority insinuated itself into the Church, finding expression, for example, in the notorious “bulls of donation” which are the target of much opprobrium in indigenous protest movements. One of the bulls in question appears to be entirely fictitious, while the others are widely misunderstood. There is, however, a real problem with these bulls – from which, of course, the Church has long been distancing itself. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission isn’t satisfied, however. I try to explain at Convivium, in Time to Bury the Bulls of Donation.
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