Mexico apologizes to Pope Francis for church’s role in Spanish victory | World News

The President of Mexico has written the letter Pope Francis We must apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in the oppression of the tribal people in the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.

The request was made in a two-page letter Vatican To temporarily return many ancient domestic manuscripts kept in its library before the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico the following year.

The letter was dated October 2, but was published on Saturday on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s Twitter page. Mexico City officials decided to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus.

The letter was presented to the pope by Beatrice Guterres M மனைவிller, the wife of Lopez Obrador, who met with him at the Vatican on Friday following her meeting with Italian President Sergio Matterella.

Lopez Obrador said that the Spanish crown, the Spanish government and the Vatican should apologize for the “most reprehensible atrocities” that took place after the Spanish conquerors came to Mexico in 1521.

“They deserve not only that generosity on our part, but also the sincere commitment that no acts of disrespect will ever be committed against their beliefs and cultures.”

The Catholic Church played an important role in the colonization of Spain United States And spread its empire and set out journeys to convert the tribal people to Christianity.

Lopez Obrador did one Similar request last year In a letter to King Felipe and the Pope of Spain, but the Spanish government The petition was dismissed outright.

The pope apologized to Bolivia in 2015 for the church’s role in the persecution in Latin America during Spanish colonialism.

In a letter to the Vatican this month, Lopez Obrador called for the withdrawal of three symbols, including the Codex Borgia, a particularly colorful screen-folding book that spans dozens of pages depicting gods and rituals from ancient central Mexico.

This is one of the best-preserved examples of pre-conquest Aztec-style writing, after Catholic authorities in colonial Mexico rejected symbols such as the work of the devil and ordered hundreds or thousands to be burned in the following decades. 1521 Success.

Lopez Obrador demands that the Vatican return the Codex Porcia, along with two other ancient symbols and its maps The Aztec capital of Tenochitlan For a one-year loan in 2021.

The nationalist president is planning a series of events to commemorate next year’s anniversary.

The Vatican has not yet responded to this request, but its museums and archives have in the past provided manuscripts and works of art from various countries after requests from other countries.

On Saturday in Mexico City, authorities removed the statue of Christopher Columbus two days earlier, with protesters planning to knock it down during events commemorating the arrival of the Italian navy to the United States.

The Ministry of Culture said the statue was removed from Reform Avenue at the request of city officials.

Activist groups organized a protest on Monday, October 12, the date of Columbus’ arrival in the United States in 1492, saying, “We are going to knock it out.”

In Mexico, the date is commemorated as Thea de la Rasa (Racing Day) in recognition of the country’s mixed indigenous and European heritage.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the statue could be returned once the restoration work is completed. “Maybe it’s worth it … (Columbus) is a collective reflection on what it means, especially towards next year,” he told a news conference.